The Bad Kid Update COMPLETE
by Kanzen ne Tsuki
Summary: Mystery. Kenshin is a Senior in a private High School. He's been convicted of several violent crimes that he didn't commit and the school is his prison. What happens when he falls for the 'new' girl and then gets tangled up in the town's oldest ghoststory
1. Default Chapter

*~*~*~*AUTHORS NOTES*~*~*~*~* VERY IMPORTANT*~*~*~*~*  
  
Alternate Universe: year 2001.  
  
PLACE: Ive Payne High School, Evermore, Maine  
  
Private Co-ed High School Campus for gifted teenagers.  
  
Segregated on-campus housing with house-parents in each building. These adults are also the Instructors at the school.   
  
MASCOTT:Swordfish  
  
Teams: Track and Field, Fencing, Martial Arts, and Football  
  
East Coast, Maine. A small town named 'Evermore'. Only 5 miles from the Ocean. Old abandoned Lighthouse on 'Hackler's point' is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of a young woman who fell to her death from the crow's walk around the lantern, and the man who pushed her over the edge over 300 years ago.  
  
  
  
PLAYERS:  
  
STUDENTS %Kenshin Himura(age 17)  
  
%Soujiro Seta Seijurou(age 17)  
  
Cleo Nyreece Seijurou(age 5)  
  
**Kaoru Kamiya(age 17)   
  
**Yahiko Myojin Kamiya(age 13)  
  
#**Linka Gensai(age 17)   
  
%**Tomoe Yukishiro(age 16-17)   
  
**Ruakii Saitou(age 17)  
  
**Quii Saitou(age 15-16)   
  
%Sanosuke Sagara(age 17)  
  
%Aoshi Shinomori(age 17)  
  
#Megumi Takani(age 16-17)  
  
#Misao Machimaki(age 16-17)  
  
PARENTS/TEACHERS:  
  
Hiko & Dharma Seijurou  
  
Shiro & Omasa Machimaki   
  
Okina & Okon Shinomori  
  
Izukia & Tarwin Takani  
  
Dr. Araki Gensai(Chemisty/Math.)  
  
Mrs. Ayme Gensai(World History)Kamiya children Guardians  
  
Enshii Yukishiro(English/Drama/Social Studies)   
  
Haijime Saitou(School Master/Martial Arts/Earth Science)   
  
Tokio Saitou(Girls Sports/Ancient Japanese History and Culture)  
  
~*~*~*~Some OOC content for reasons of story context and plot development.  
  
%=BOYS DORM  
  
#=GIRLS DORM  
  
**=LIVE ON CAMPUS WITH PARENTS  
  
*~*~*~*~SOME OOC CONTENT FOR REASONS OF STORY CONTEXT AND PLOT DEVELOPEMENT.  
  
Standard Disclaimers: I do not own The Rurouni Kenshin Charachters, and God knows I shouldn't. Not after what I am about to do to their lives. Poor kids. *o* Sniffle  
  
THE BAD KID  
  
Date: Wednesday, October, 2001  
  
Time: Lunch  
  
"Hey, wait up, Stupid. Did you see her?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The new girl, did you see her? She was in Master Saitou's Science class this morning?"  
  
"Nope, I guess I didn't. What about her?" The voice sounded bored and uninterested.  
  
"Way wierd. I mean, waaaaaaaay wierd."  
  
"You're kidding? What kinda wierd?" Now there was a tiny spark of interest, because anything out of the ordinary was always worth a little bit of good gossip.  
  
"Creepy wierd... almost Goth, you know. Long black hair clear down past her waist and hanging all over in her eyes and stuff. I could hardly see her face." Nimble white hands fluttered and flew through the air at a wild pace as the girl tried to help express her point with lavish gestures and signals.  
  
"Wierd. Where was she sitting?"  
  
"Way on the back row in the corner by the windows."  
  
"Well, geez! No wonder I missed her, You stupid dork. My desk is clear up front."   
  
Misao Machimaki's hand lashed out swiftly and smacked Megumi Takani in the back of the head as her other hand idlely opened the insulated tin she was carrying her lunch in.  
  
"Hey, cut it out you wild animal!" The dark haired girl screeched in feminine protest. "You'll mess up my hair."  
  
"Oooooh, I forgot... " Misao made an ugly face and stuck her tongue out. "You're still trying to get the attention of that big idiot rooster-tail that is always squawking his mouth off up and down the hallways. Give it up, Megumi." She waved her hand in the air as if brushing off something smelly and disgusting. "Sanosuke Sagara is never going to notice you. All he thinks about is fighting, eating, and scrounging around with his friends. He's a loser."  
  
"HE IS NOT A LOSER!! Megumi's eyes flared a dangerous heated blue as she snarled in her best friends face. "He's just.... he's just a little less concerned about popularity that most of the other guys, that is all. So don't you go calling him a loser again... Ok?" Pouting was one of the spoiled girls best tactics, but it did not work as good on Misao as it did on the other girls and boys she knew. Misao just rolled her eyes and waved both hands in the air in disgust and impatient frustration.  
  
"Whatever, Kitsune, but I am not the only one who thinks your so-called-Prince-Charming is a big jerk."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Come on, you have got to be kidding? EVERYONE thinks so."  
  
"No they don't."  
  
"YES they do."  
  
"No, they don't." The two girls eyes met, furious glittering blue burned into stubborn blue-green. "Not everybody.... do they??" Megumi suddenly sounded worried and a little hurt as she broke off the staring match. "Well, so what if they do." She mumbled in a small voice. "I don't care. I love him and that is all that matters to me."  
  
"You go girl." Misao patted her sharply on the back making Megumi pitch forward into the grass while she thought, 'It's your funeral.'   
  
"Misaooo!" She wailed as she sat up brushing little pieces of dirt and grass out of her long glossy black hair. "Now look what you did. I am going to have to brush it out all over again, and I had it just the way I wanted it too." Megumi favored her friend with an icy cold glare meant to whither her on the spot, but Misao just shrugged and shook her head, and then began stuffing her face with a tuna-salad sandwich.   
  
"You really think everyone thinks Sano is a jerk?" She asked softly as she pulled her own lunch out of the small duffle she packed it in. "Is He really all that bad?"  
  
Misao could see that Megumi was actually upset, and it made her feel a little bit guilty. After all, even though Megumi was the daughter of a very wealthy businessman and she was spoiled rotten, she was still Misao's best friend and she did not like to see her like this. She would rather see her all snotty and snobbish than quiet and insecure even if the later was more the true Megumi than the former.  
  
"No, I don't think He is all that bad, but Megumi, you have to face facts, Honey. In the last three years that you have been trying to get him to notice you... has He?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, doesn't that tell you something about him? I mean, look at you. You're beautiful and your smart and your... well, your just one hellova catch, and he keeps missing the boat. Why do you think that is?"  
  
"I don't know, Misao. Maybe He just doesn't like 'my' kind of 'beautiful', or maybe He just doesn't like me... but you're right. No matter what I have tried, He has not so much as said 'Hello' to me once or even looked me in the eyes. He doesn't even know I exist." The young girl sighed heavily with the all encompassing dispair only a teenager can feel. "And this year He is a Senior, and He will be graduating next Spring... and then he will be gone for good and I will never see him again." A tear slid down her cheek and dripped off her chin falling into her milk. "Maybe I should just forget it, huh. Do you think I should just forget about him and look for somebody else?"  
  
Misao really felt raunchy now. Megumi hardly ever cried or got all mushy and emotional, and now she was doing all of those things, and it was her fault for teasing her about that stupid rooster-head. Her clear blue-green eyes narrowed in deep thought as she tried to think of something inspirational to say to her friend that would get her out of this depressed mood.  
  
"Look, Kitsune. If you love the big Rooster-head that much... well, then... let's figure out a way to get him to NOTICE you, and if he isn't interested after that, then you can set your sights on something 'better'. Ok?"   
  
"Ok." Megumi was forced into smiling as she looked into her friends fierce face. It was odd, but sometimes when Misao got really uptight and determined about something, she looked like a little weasel because she would narrow her eyes and make her face all stiff and thin. In fact, a lot of the kids called her 'weasel girl' behind her back, but Megumi had never told her that.  
  
"All right then, get that depressed old-lady look off your face and let's eat while we still have time. The bell is going to be going off any minute, and I haven't even started on the pudding stuff Mrs. Gensai put in my Lunch this morning, and it actually looks eatable this time." Misao smiled in relief as Megumi finally burst out in a fit of giggles that kept her occupied for at least a good two minutes, and when she was finished wipping the tears from her clear blue eyes, she gave Misao a big hug.  
  
"Thank's Misao. I really do not know what I would do without you to keep me going when things get all messed up."  
  
"Yes, you do. You'd get all screwy and then nobody would be able to stand you at all."  
  
"MISAO!" They both disolved into uncontolled giggles and hugged each other for a few seconds, and then finally settled down to finish the Lunch they nearly never got to eat.  
  
Standing several yard away, smoking a thin cigarette while leaning neglegantly against a huge Oak tree, was a young man who had been watching the girls intently throughout their conversation. He was reasonably well concealed by the trunk of the large tree and was not afraid of being discovered as he continued to observe their silly antics with half a smile tugging at the corner of his well shaped mouth.   
  
Misao Machimaki and Megumi Takani... What a bizarre and mismatched pair those two were. A low chuckle of amused irony slid out between his lips as he exhaled a thin stream of smoke into the cool autumn air. One was hopelessly spoiled and concieted, while the other was a wild fireball of emotional contradictions and fierce loyalties. Definitely not a combination one would think to find bonded together in such a close friendship, but he had seen stranger things happen than this. That he had.  
  
He nonchalantly dropped the still smoking cigarette butt to the ground, and then ground it into the damp grass with the toe of his black high-top sneaker. 'The Machimaki girl was right about a couple things though,' he thought to himself. One being the bell was about to ring signaling that it was time for all of the little rats to run back on board the ship before it set sail without them, and second, he had noticed the strange new girl himself. But, unlike those two, he had not found her 'wierd', instead, he had found her puzzling to say the least.  
  
She had literally slunk into his first period Chemisty class like a small black cat trying to hide up against an ally wall. The transfer slip had been handed to Dr. Gensai without a single word, and when the old goat had pointed out the seat he wanted her to take on the end of the third row, right in front of him and two chairs over, all she had done was nod once, and then skitter across the room like a frightened bird to the desk. He had watched her as she silently put her backpack on the desktop, open it and pull out her Chem book, a pencil and notebook, and then proceed to slouch down in her chair until she nearly disappeared. The feeling that she wanted to be invisable and go unnoticed by everyone was overwhelming, and it bothered him in a way he really could not explain. He had not ever seen anyone do anything like that before. He had never felt the need to be invisable or unseen, nor had he ever wanted to disappear out of fear, insecurity, or... dispair?   
  
As the class had progressed, he could see other kids pointing at her and talking amongst themselves, and then smothering their laughter so they would not get in trouble for disturbing the lesson. That bothered him as well because he could not find anything about her that was funny or even slightly humorous, and it irked him that they would take advantage of someone who was so obviously opressed in one way or another.  
  
As usual, the ring-leader of the group having the most fun at her expense was none other than the School Master's mean spirited son, Ruakii Saitou. The youth seemed to thrive on the pain and misfortune of others, and found it even more enjoyable when he could add to it by inflicting his own sadistic cruelty on the poor soul, and He was in fine form today as he had followed the new girl down the hall after class heckling her about her hair, clothes, and general appearance. Someday someone was going to teach that little asshole a lesson he would never forget.  
  
BBBLLLRRRIIINNNGGGG!  
  
The obnoxious ringing of the school's bell interrupted his little walk down memory lane, and with a small sigh of defeat, he pushed himself away from the tree and walked back toward the three story redbrick building. 'Prison,' He thought. 'I guess it is better than being in Prison... but just barely.' Spitting on the ground once, he established what he really thought of Ive Payne High School, and then he opened the old weather stained doors and walked back inside.  
  
It did not look much better than a Prison to him, but it seemed the lessor of the two evils and the time. It was either get shipped off to a private boarding school out of state where he could be under constant 24 hour supervision, or go to Juvinile Lock-down for 4 years. His parents had made the choice for him. They thought that his being confined to the 10 acre campus under constant Adult supervision, plus bi-weekly meetings with his Juvinile Probabion Officer and Youth Counsolor would be more than adequate to keep him out of trouble, and a much better solution that Lock-down where he would be surrounded by other 'bad kids'.   
  
That is what he was now, 'A Bad Kid', and all because he had ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time, but no one had believed him when he told them that. Nope. He was caught red-handed, and he was guilty and that was that. It did not matter that he knew who was really responsible, or that he knew exactly what had REALLY happened, he was just a punk teenager with long hair and a bad attitude, so nobody would listen to a word he said. Not even his parents, and that had really hurt him deep down inside. But, then again, why should he have thought they would believe him then? They had never believed him before, so why should that time have been any different? He was used to being 'The Bad Kid' now, so he may as well play the part, it was easier that way anyway. It was what people expected him to do, so what the hell. He could do that.  
  
"Hey, Himura! Pull your head out of your ass and get moving. The second bell is about to ring, and you already have your allowed quota of tardies this week. One more and your ass is in detention... you know what that means, Boy?"  
  
Kenshin Himura's slender but muscular shoulders stiffened at the sound of that sarcastic grating voice, and then slowly turned around to face the bland arrogant face of School Master Hajime Saitou.  
  
"Oh no, Sir." He responded in his best 'bad-boy' drawl. "Why, I have not one single idea what that means? Maybe you could be a pal and clue me in? Whatdaya say?" The smile that curved his lips reeked of sarcastic disrespect, and he was inwardly satisfied when the older man's topaz eyes narrowed and his features hardened.  
  
"Careful," Master Saitou's voice was lowered to a dangerous whisper. "You still have not passed your final Karate'Kata... and the practical exams start this afternoon."  
  
"Really, I look forward to it, Sir. Are you going to be my 'throwing' partner today? Gosh, I hope so."  
  
"Don't flatter yourself you little asshole. You know I never engage the students during their exams because I am the one who has to judge their technique."  
  
"Cool." His clear violet eyes narrowed slightly and took on an eerie golden cast. "Then don't threaten me, Master. Not unless your prepared to carry that threat out yourself." The challenge was clearly spoken, and the older man was not fooled into thinking it was any sort of a bluff. Kenshin was his finest student, even out performing his very own son in one catagory after another despite Ruakii's best efforts, and his Father's instruction.  
  
"Get to class... Now."  
  
"Yes, Sir."   
  
Saitou watched the lean red-haired teen glide up the hallway away from him, and felt the tight ball of angry frustration lodged in his chest slowly unwind itself. "Goddamit!" He swore under his breath, as he considered what had just happened. Had he really threatened that damn kid? Yes, he had. Shit! What was the matter with him, letting a little punk like that get to him when he was the one who was supposed to be in control? It was the kid. He was the most irritating, disrespectful little prick Saitou had ever seen walk through the doors of this school in the 20 years he had been Master here.  
  
Saitou and his Wife, Tokio, had been given temporary custody of the Himura boy three years ago when he had been transfered to the school from a small town in upstate New York where he had gotten himself involved with a gang of kids from the wrong side of the tracks. The Police suspected this gang to be responsible for a lot of the vandalism going on in the downtown business district, and had placed them under loose surveilance. As it had turned out, the gang had been caught in the act of breaking into a small clothing shop by the shop's private owner, who lived in an apartment just over the store. There had been a scuffle, and the old man had been shot in the chest with his own gun, but not before someone had called 911 to alert the Police of the escalating situation.  
  
When the Police arrived, they found the clothing shop in complete disaray and disorder, and the owner dieing from his wounds with the bloody gun still clutched in his frozen hand. The man did not live long enough to discribe his killer, but when the Police searched the area, they were easily able to find their suspect trying to hide in the ally behind the shop.   
  
A 14 year old boy with flaming red hair and dark violet eyes whose clothing and hands were covered with what was later identified as the shop owner's blood, and favoring a broken leg. Somehow during the panic of the escape, the boy had gotten tangled up with some debris in the ally, and, when he fell, his body had twisted at an odd angle causing his weight to shift dramitcally to one side, and falling directly onto his right leg, it had snapped the femur cleanly in half.  
  
Because no other finger prints or other incriminating evidence could be found to implicate anyone besides the boy, he alone was charged with breaking and entering, and the accidental shooting death of the shop owner. Because he was only 14, his Lawyer went to the Courts and asked for leiniency, and a plea bargain was settled on. The teen would serve out his four year sentence under house-arrest in an out of state private boarding school where he would be constantly monitored and supervised. Counceling services would be made availble to him through the Probation Department of Youth Correctional Services closest to the school, and every effort would be made to rehabilitate him before he was eligable for graduation, but in the last three years, the boy had given them nothing but trouble.  
  
Nothing he had done could technically be termed a break in his probabtion contract, so no drastic measures had ever been implimented, and no one could say he had even broken any of the strict rules set up by the School itself. On the contrary, he was an exceptional student carrying a nearly straight 'A' average every quarter. Plus, he was a gifted athlete who had lettered in Track and Field, Fencing, and Martial Arts. It had been decided during his first year at the school that he was too small in stature and build for Football, so he had been redirected into the other sports the School offered, and had done very well earning many first place ribbons and medals.  
  
It was his attitude that no one could abide. The boy was out right insufferable most of the time whenever any of the Teachers tried to deal with him. He was sarcastic, uncooperative, and coldly disrespectful unless approached very carefully. There could be no hint of authority or confrontation in the Teacher's voice or demeanor because if he sensed there was, the battle was on and the Teacher usually lost... in a manner of speaking. The boy was incredibly intelligent and his mind was sharp as any dagger when it came to word games or making 'a play' on words. He was also a 'Master Manipulator' who had managed to talk his way out of more punishments that any member of the Faculty could remember a student being able to do before. His ability to make them all feel like fools was inexplicable and deftly masterful, and none of them had been spared the venom of his rath. And, dispite all their combined and individual efforts, none of them had ever found a way around his carefully constructed mental defenses yet. Many of them had admitted a grudging respect for the boy's cold ruthlessness and unerring intellect. He was a genius, and he was slowly driving them all insane because not a one of them had been able to gain his confidence or earn his trust, thus, not one of them understood what was going on inside that incredible brain of his, nor what reasoning compelled him to do the things he did.  
  
Kenshin Himura was the enigma of Ive Payne High, and the resident 'Bad Ass' to boot. Master Saitou shook his head in frustrated resignation as his thoughts continued to dwell on the confusing youth. 'Bad combination,' He thought, as he returned to his office. 'Very bad combination.'   
  
The heavy wooden door closed with a loud click as the latch caught and held.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"HYYYYEEYAAAHH!"  
  
THUD!  
  
"OOOF!" Ruakii Saitou sailed through the air in a graceful arch, but landed in an undignifed heap of flailing arms and legs as he struck the practice mat with enough force to send him rolling several yards as well. Pushing himself up on his elbows, he shook his head trying to clear his thoughts before hauling himself to his feet and angrily facing his antagonist. Laughing amethyst eyes and a smirking half smile sent his blood to boiling, and with a cry of pure rage, he launched himself at his nemisis. Kenshin Himura.  
  
Kenshin easily dodged Ruakii's blind rush on his position, then deftly grabbed him by the rear wrist and, using the other boys momentum against him, fliped him head over heels sending him across the mat another six feet, but this time, Ruakii landed on his feet in perfect balance. Using the speed that had remained with him, he whip-lashed himself around and leapt at Kenshin with both feet out stretched hoping to catch him in an off-guard sucker-punch, but Kenshin had backflipped away from his opponents quick reversal and was waiting for him. As Ruakii's feet struck solid surface, he lunged at his opponent preparing for a full frontal attack, but Kenshin had firmly planted his right foot behind himself, and his left foot in front, knee slightly bent to absorb the concussion of the force, and the flat of his right hand struck Ruakii squarely in the center of his chest. Following through with the blow by flexing his left knee and rolling his right shoulder forward and down, Kenshin smoothly twisted at the waist and successfully changed the direction of his opponents tragetory and, with bone-jarring force, slammed him flat on his back knocking both the air and the fight out of him.   
  
"STOP!" The shouted command brought Kenshin up short when he was actually thinking about a pay-back sucker-punch, but he merely winked sardonically at the winded Ruakii and pulled back, bowed respectfully to his fallen opponent, and then returned to his seat along the edge of the mat between two of his other classmates.  
  
Saitou frowned as he watched the youth walk gracefully out of the dueling area and take his place, and then, with a sigh of resignation, marched onto the mat to retrieve his beaten son.  
  
"Are you all right?" He asked as he leaned over and looked into his son's startled brown eyes.  
  
"I-coughcough, I guess-cough so. What th-coughcough, the hell-cough did-cough he hit me-coughcoughcoughcough with? coughcoughcough."  
  
"His hand, Dummy. What do you think he hit you with?"   
  
"A fucking-coughcough hammer." Saitou could not help the chuckle that rumbled up his throat at his son's description of Himura's technique of subduing him. Actually, it was a fairly good summation of what the boy had done to him. By absorbing the shock of Ruakii's charge with his left knee, Himura had been able to channel his adversaies strength and speed into his own body and use it against him. He had, in a manner of speaking, hammered Ruakii right into the ground with the combined strength of two fighters. Ingenious... Intelligent... Dangerous.  
  
"Come on, Slugger. Up you go." Saitou gripped his son by one elbow and helped him stand up on trembling legs. "Can you stand-up by your self?"  
  
"Of course, I can!" The angry boy snapped furiously, and looking at him blandly, his father nodded and let go. Ruakii's knees immediately buckled beneath his unsteady weight, and he crashed back down onto the mat at Saitou's feet.   
  
"Uh-huh. Sure you can." Sighing heavily and wondering why he had to constantly put up with so much bullshit from these damn kids, even his own, Saitou leaned over once more and none to gently hauled his moaning son back to his feet. "Now, you going to be stupid again, or are you going to be smart and let me help you set down?"  
  
"Whatever." Ruakii felt like he was going to puke, and all he wanted to do was find Himura so he could do it all over his smirking face.  
  
"Fine, pick your feet up. I'm not a damn tow-truck, and that mean's I AM NOT going to drag your ass all the way over to your seat. You have to learn to help yourself, Ruakii."  
  
"Yeah, sure thing, Dad. Whatever." But he did manage to stumble back to his place along the edge of the mat with his father's help.  
  
"All right, Class," Master Saitou walked into the center of the dueling mat and faced the line of students setting along the edge. "Tell me, if you can, why Ruakii-san lost the match to Himura-san? What did he do wrong?"  
  
"You mean besides get into the dueling circle in the first place, Master?" Sanosuke Sagara's loud obnoxious voice sailed across the room, and the other 16 boys burst into loud laughter. The only ones not actually laughing were Ruakii, who glared down the row at the hooting Rooster, and Kenshin, who was setting quietly with a thoughtful look on his lean handsome face.  
  
"That will be enough of that, Sagara. Maybe you would like to be the next one in the dueling circle with Himura-san? Hmmmm?" That shut the guffawing irritaing Rooster up quite quickly, and his little pack of followers with him. There were a few stray chuckles lingering in the room, but for the most part, the inappropriate scene was over. Saitou let the hint of a satisfied smile tug at the corner of his stern mouth as he watched the Rooster shift uncomfortably and cast a wary look in the Himura boys direction. It seemed no one was very eager to get into the dueling circle with the calm, deliberate red head. Not that Saitou blamed them.  
  
"Back to task fighters. Answer the question at hand. Why did Ruakii-san lose the match? Think it through and analyse. That is how fighters become better at fighting, by being able to understand what went wrong and being able to fix it."  
  
"He let himself get caught off balance."  
  
"No."  
  
"He did not center his gravity properly."  
  
"No."  
  
"He forgot to watch Himura-san's central axis instead of his face."  
  
"No."  
  
"There was no plan to any of his assault tacts." The mellow, quiet voice of Kenshin Himura himself sounded distinctly within the din of the muttering and murmuring of his classmates.  
  
"That is partially right. Who said that?" Saitou was afraid he alread knew the answer to that question even before he asked it.  
  
"I did." Was the coldly spoken answer as Kenshin rose fluidly to his feet.  
  
"I thought so. Come," Saitou motioned the boy to come and stand before him which he did without question or comment. 'Unusual.' Once he was standing directly in front of him, Saitou bowed deeply to him and was surprised to see the boy respond in kind. Then they both assumed relaxed positions with feet slightly spread and hands clasped behind their backs.  
  
"Now, tell me, Himura-san, why did you say that Ruakii-san lost to you because he had no plan to any of his assaults? What is your reasoning for this assumption?"  
  
"The result of his performance should be reason enough, Master, but as you seem to require a full explanation, I shall try to comply to the best of my abilities." Saitou's thinly arched silver eyebrows rose in stunned acknowledgment of the boys attempt at respectful rhetoric, and he inclined his head to one side indicating Kenshin to continue.  
  
"Ruakii-san lost to me because he had no formulated sense of strategy in mind to use on me, and that was caused from a singular lax in his level of concentration."  
  
"That is exactly right. Do you know what caused his lax in concentration?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Please explain the cause then, so that the rest of the class... as well as Ruakii-san, may benefit from your deductions. I am also curious to know what you believe happened because IT is the direct reason you were able to defeat him so efficiently."  
  
"Perhaps, but that is not the point, is it Master. The point is that we are here to learn to improve our skills as fighters, not humiliate one another... Ruakii-san lost to me because of a concentration laspe caused directly from his inability to control his own emotions. Simply put, He lost because he the let irrationality of his rage rule his actions instead of his rational mind, and he will always lose until he learns to control those emotions. He wanted to destroy me, and when he could not overcome my superior defense, he let his rage and jealousy take over, and I defeated him much quicker than his level of skill should have allowed. I will not apologize for being a better fighter, but neither will I accept that his failure to perform up to his own potential to be the only reason I defeated him."  
  
The entire room had become deathly quiet during Kenshin's explanation, and as he finished, there seemed to be a feeling of humbleness hanging in the air that Saitou had never experienced with this particular group of rowdy youths. The boy was right, of course. His victory over Ruakii could not be singularly attributed to the other boys lack of self-control. Kenshin Himura's skill was without a doubt exceptional, and Saitou knew that he had insulted the boys sense of personal honor when he had insinuated that skill had nothing to do with his victory.   
  
Hard, wolfish yellow-gold eyes met and held the proud determined gaze of Kenshin's amber-tinged violet crystals, and for the first time in the three long years they had known one another, a level of understanding was reached and shared between them.   
  
Master Saitou looked long and hard into the fiercly proud face of the young man standing in front of him, and realized for the first time, that perhaps he might have misjudged the boy somewhere along the line. The eyes that looked back at him met his eyes without flinching and they reflected none of the malevolence he had grown so used to seeing in them. Instead, they were filled with nothing more than self pride, honesty, and the determination not to be put down or cast aside as if he were less than anyone else. As that understanding settled within his usually strict and uncompromising mind, Saitou began to question everything he knew about this boy including all of the information logged away on the old police reports, and in the bi-weekly counseling notes. Suddenly, everything he had ever thought and believed about this 'Bad Kid' was just not ringing quite true, and that thought bothered his conceince AND his sense of honor very much.  
  
"Thank-you, Himura-san. I accept your explanation, please return to your place." Saitou watched in silent astonishment as a look of surprised bewilderment flashed in Kenshin's eyes when he realized he was not going to be reprimanded for his audacity, and then the shutters closed over the stoic features once more.   
  
"Yes Master Saitou." His voice was low and smooth as silk, then he bowed deeply at the waist holding the position for several long seconds before rising and returning to his place. Saitou was flabbergasted. That was the first time the insolent, uncooperative youth had ever called him by his full title, and it was the first time he had ever heard his name fall from that mouth in any tone other than a sneer in the three years he had been associated with him. Kenshin Himura had actually spoken to him with a voice full of honest respect, and then bowed to him in a show of deep respect as well. Saitou was prepared for Hell to freeze over after that.  
  
The rest of the practical exams proceeded through the hour without further difficulties, and Saitou breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally able to dismiss the boys and retreat to the sainctity of his office. He had not even bothered to change out of his gi and practice hakama. The first thing he did after shutting the big oak door was pull the Himura boy's file out of the cabinet, and then he settled behind his desk, extracted a cigarette and lighter from the top drawer and opened the inch thick dark blue folder.  
  
There was a picture of Kenshin attached to the inside of the folder. It was last years class photo taken for the yearbook, and the youth was glaring into the camara with his usual 'Go to hell,' look refusing to cooperate even with the photographer that day. Saitou lit his cigarette and lifted the first page off the top of the deep pile of neatly stacked papers.  
  
YEARLY ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE EVALUATION UPDATE  
  
  
  
PRESENT INSTITUTION: IVE PAYNE HIGH SCHOOL, PRIVATE SEGREGATED TEACHING FACILITY  
  
SUBJECT: KENSHIN KODORA HIMURA  
  
AGE: 16  
  
CRIMES/CONVICTIONS: 1. BREAKING AND ENTERING WITH THE INTENTION OF COMMITTING VANDALISM/ROBBERY  
  
2. VOLENTARY MANSLAUGHTER  
  
3. RESISTING ARREST  
  
4. ASSAULTING A POLICE OFFICER  
  
5. VIOLATION OF POLICE ENFORCED CURFEW  
  
SENTENCE/PUNISHMENT:1. 4 YEARS HOUSE ARREST/CONFINEMENT AT THE 10 ACRE CAMPUS OF IVE PAYNE HIGH SCHOOL/HOUSING:ON-COMPUS SEGREGATED DORMATORY  
  
2. 24 HOUR SUPERVISION BY TEMPORARY GUARDIANS,HAJIME AND TOKIO SAITOU. SCHOOL MASTER.   
  
3. BI-WEEKLY CONTACT WITH PROBABTION OFFICER  
  
4. BI-WEEKLY REEHABILITATION THEROPY WITH A   
  
QUALIFIED YOUTH PSYCHOLOGIST  
  
5. NO LEAVE ALLOWED OFF CAMPUS GROUNDS  
  
WITHOUT STRICT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM ATTENDING PROBABTION OFFICER, AND GUARDIAN  
  
CURRENT PSYCHOLOGICAL STANDINGS  
  
DATE: MAY 28, 2000  
  
PSYCOLOGIST EVALUATING STUDENT: ELAINE F. LINDQUIST BS, CSW  
  
Once again, I invited Mr. Seijurou and his wife to join us at this yearly review, and once again they have not come, so it is just the student and myself in attendance, the same as it has been for the last two years. I remain very worried about the fact that this boy's family are not willing or are not concerned enough about him to become involved with his life and his rehabilitation. I have misgivings about the support foundation, or lack there of that he has to return to once he is released from the School's custody at graduation.   
  
There are no doubts within my mind at all that this young man will indeed graduate. His grades are excellent and his ability to learn new material is nothing short of outstanding. Although, he continues to have difficulties with authority figures, he remains within the top 3% of his class and the top 5% of the School's acedemic statistics. The only reason he is unable to make the Honor roll or the Master's list is because of his attitude problems. How he manages to continue to stay out of any real trouble remains a mystery to us all.  
  
After speaking with his personal counselor, Audrey Wheaten, I am at a loss as to what direction to take with the boy. Ms. Wheaten tells me that he remains unwilling to talk about any part of his crime, or the reasons that brought him to this particular situation. She states that during their sessions together, he simply sets and draws or stares out the window and no matter what tactics she has tried, he adamantly refuses to talk to her about anything, including his feelings about his 'incarceration' here at the School, and his family's seeming lack of interest in his progress or lack there of.  
  
This absolute refusal of his to acknowledge his guilt has become a secondary concern to me at this point, since it seems he has no desire to continue with his gang-like activities. There have been no reported incidents of vandalism or violence since his arrival three years ago, and he has never tried to escape the confines of the Campus. It would appear he has made peace within himself concerning his past behaviors, and is truly trying to make himself a better person, however his socialization skills remain questionable.  
  
He remains antisocial except within his sporting activities. He has never had a girl-friend nor has he ever dated any of the girls on Campus that anyone is aware of. There is one letter per week posted to his younger brother, Soujiro, which includes one of his original drawings enclosed for his youngest sister, Cleo, who I am told has just turned 4.   
  
Kenshin has not seen Cleo since she was an infant of 10 months. His parents have never brought her with them when they make their periodic visits. His brother sends him pictures that she has drawn for him, and has occassionally 'snuck' a photograph or two into the letters he sends back. Otherwise, this young man would not even know what his youngest sibling looked like. I find this to be a reprehensible decision/act on the part of his parents. He is still their son, and he needs their love and support in order to re-enter society as a functional individual. He needs his ENTIRE family with him, including the smallest member.   
  
Today, Kenshin and I went for a walk down by the stream that runs through the eastside of Campus. I wanted to try and get him to open up a little bit about how he felt about his parents not coming to his evaluation again. To say the least, I was not prepared for what happened. He told me that it really did not matter to him if they came or not. I asked him why he felt that way, and this is what he told me.  
  
"Because they never gave a shit about what happened to me before any of this crap happened, why should they care what happens to me now? They probably don't even notice that I'm not around anymore... it's not like they really noticed me when I was, so what the fuck. They can go to Hell for all I care. I hope they never come to any of these things. Shit! They wouldn't know what to say or do anyway."  
  
I had expected him to be angry, even furious, but I was not prepared for his feelings of total worthlessness in their lives. How did such an intelligent, handsome young man come to this end? If I could only climb into his mind for one day so I could understand what makes him think the way he does, I would trade all my degrees for the chance.   
  
He comes from a wealthy but unstable family background. His father died when he was 6 years old, and his mother, Dharma, was married again two years later to the man who is fairly responsible for Kenshin's upbringing. Hiko Seijurou. When Hiko and Dharma were married, Hiko also had an 8 year old son, Soujiro Seta Seijurou, from his first marriage. As I recall, Soujiro's mother was quite an unstable individual with many emotional issues pretaining to her husband and their life together. It was her idea to name their son 'Soujiro' even though it was close in sound and inflection as their last name. The boy was constantly teased by other childre, and that led to many arguments between the couple until she eventually left Hiko when the boy was only 5 years old, and when the divorce was finalized she did not seem to want the youngster so the father had gotten sole-custody. Four years into the new marriage, Hiko and Dharma gave birth to Cleo, their daughter and younger sister to both boys.   
  
Kenshin is the older of the two boys by only 3 or 4 months, and he and Soujiro were close, except Kenshin said he would never let his 'little' brother go out scrounging around with him and his friends at night. Soujiro is more mild mannered than his red-haired step-brother, and Kenshin did not want him to get hurt, so he always made him stay home.  
  
I also know from a few of the letters Kenshin has gotten from his brother that he has allowed me to read, that he was very, very attached to his tiny baby sister. There are numerous references/playful brotherly jibes about how he will not be able to wake her up in the middle of the night just so he can rock her back to sleep anymore, because she is way too big to rock now, and because if he wakes her up, He will have to read her 50 stories before she will go back to sleep.  
  
The contradictions in character that surround this young man are mind boggling and perplexing. I cannot help but feel like there is more to the picture than anyone is being allowed to see here. If only he would open up and talk to someone, perhaps we could solve a mystery and possibly save a youngman from putting his feet back on the pathway of self-destruction.  
  
If they ever were there in the first place.  
  
Signed,  
  
Ms. Elaine F. Lindquist, BS, CSW   
  
Saitoh stubbed out his third cigarette after beginning the report. Funny, but he could not remember having read it before. His brow wrinkled as he wondered why he would not have bothered to read something as important as his Charge's Pshych. Review. Was it just because he was used to feeling like the boy was exactly what he had always thought he was? Just a pain in the ass and nothing else?  
  
It was obvious from Ms. Lindquist's report that he was SOMETHING MORE than anyone had ever given him credit for. Saitou leaned back in his chair, and, steepling his fingers in front of his face, began to dwell on the enigma of Kenshin Himura and what could be done to really help the boy, or if he could be helped at all. It seemed from the report that the only person in his family that gave a shit what happened to him was his brother, Soujiro, and as he considered the unique relationship between the two boys, a very interesting idea occurred to Saitou. Picking up the intercom phone, he quickly punched in the 4-digit extension he wanted and waited for his wife to pick up.  
  
"Coach Takagi,"  
  
"Hello, beautiful lady." He murmured in a low husky voice into the mouthpiece.  
  
"Uh-oh... what do you want, Hajime? You NEVER call me that unless you WANT something, so what is it."  
  
"Hey, that is not true. I call you beautiful all the time, you wretched woman."   
  
"Not in THAT tone of voice you don't..." A soft attractive laugh echoed over the line, and then she spoke seriously in her usual gentle tone. "What's the matter, Sweetie? You've got something important on your mind."  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"Because, I've been married to you for nearly 20 years... I can tell. What's on your mind?"  
  
"Kenshin Himura."  
  
"Oh dear... What has he done to Ruakii now?"  
  
"Tokio!"  
  
"Just kidding, Dearest. What about the boy? Has he tied Dr. Gensai's rubber tubes in knots again?"  
  
"No," Saitou tried to smother a chuckle as the memory of that particular stunt of the boy's came back to him. "No, nothing quite that interesting, I'm sorry."  
  
"Rat's. I was in the mood for a good laugh too."  
  
"You always did think his antics were funnier that any of the rest of us."  
  
"Well, that is because he is an ANGEL in my class. You BAKA men just don't know how to handle him, that's your problem."  
  
"Really? And who died and made YOU the expert?"  
  
"Nobody. I just know how to deal with Kenshin better than YOU do. He needs a gentle touch not the heavy hand of Slave-Authority."  
  
"I knew I should have called someone else..."  
  
"Hajime." A wicked feminine giggled sounded over the phone, and he smiled as he envisioned how her face looked when she was teasing  
  
him. He could almost see her eyes dancing with mischief and that particular smile that was hers alone when she was in this mood. She was the only one who really knew that he was not the complete hard-ass everyone else believed he was.  
  
"Are you ready to listen now?" He asked in a semi-serious voice.  
  
"Yes, yes Koishii. Please tell me what you are thinking about my favorite student."  
  
"Fav... Tokio." He sighed. "All right. Listen, what do you think of the idea of approaching his parents about having his younger brother come to school with him for the rest of the year?"  
  
"You mean, trasfer now? In the middle of the Quarter?"  
  
"It is not technically the middle of the quarter. It's only 3 weeks in, and I would let him transfer all of his credits straight across."  
  
"Hmmmm... What is up your sleeve Hajime Saitou? You are being waaaay to generous and waaaay to nice about this, and wanting to bring Kenshin's brother up here to be with him for their Senior year of school is... well, it's... Honey, it's just damn strange."  
  
"I know it is, but I have my reasons. I am asking you if you think you could deal with another guardianship?"  
  
"I do not see a problem. Whenever the boy has been here to visit, he has been nothing less than the picture of politeness and courtesy. I think it would do Kenshin some good to have some 'good' family support close to him here."  
  
"Then you are in full agreement with me, because that is the exact reason I want to bring the other boy here. I think Kenshin may benefit socially as well as psychologically from the close presance of his brother."  
  
"My, my, my... something HAS really gotten into you. What happened today?"  
  
"Let's just say, Hell froze over."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Never mind. I will talk to you about it all in more detail when we get home tonight. OK?"  
  
"Ok, Honey, but you better have a good explanation because if your saying 'Hell just froze over,' and whatever it was made you act like this, then I'm afraid to go outside."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I could get pooped on by flying pigs."  
  
"Tokio... geez."  
  
"Love you too. See you at home." click  
  
"Strange woman... but you gotta love her." Saitou hung up his phone and returned his attention to the student folder on his desk. The answer to the 'Kenshin mystery' was hidden inside all of this jumbled confusion of misguiding information somewhere, and he was determined to find it.   
  
Either someone was lying, or someone had screwed up majorly. There was a bad feeling deep down in his gut that it was the later, but he would need to do a lot of digging to prove that. A lot of digging, and he was going to need some help. He turned to his rolodex and flipped through it until he found the number he was looking for, and then he picked the telephone up again and dialed. It rang four times before the familiar voice answered and identified itself.  
  
"Elaine Lundquist, may I help you."  
  
"Hello, Elaine. This is Hajime Saitou out at Ive Payne."  
  
"Yes, yes. How are you Master Saitou?"  
  
"Fine, thank-you. Listen, do you have a couple of minutes or have I caught you at a bad time?"  
  
"No, not at all. What is on your mind? I assume it has something to do with the Himura boy."  
  
"Yes, it does. I was just... ah, I just read your psych. eval on him from last year, and there are some things about it that are troubling me."  
  
"Really? What kind of things? I will admit, He is one of the most confusing young men I have ever tried to help. It is almost as if he does not want to be helped."  
  
"I think that is the problem, Elaine."  
  
"Excuse me? What is the problem?"  
  
"He doesn't need the kind of help we have been trying to force feed him for the last three years. I don't think there is anything really wrong with him that a show of a little understanding might help to fix."  
  
"What are you talkig about? The boy killed a man, Master Saitou. It was proved to be volentary as well, and you are talking about trying to understand THAT?"  
  
"To tell you the truth, Elaine, I am starting to question as to whether everything they convicted him of was all his doing. I am not sure anymore if he is 'the bad kid' we all think he is."  
  
"Hajime... what happened that made you think this way? I know something has to have happened to make you reconisider your opinion of Kenshin because you have been one of his staunchest ill-supporters ever sence we brought him over from Denton."  
  
"Let's just say... we had a meeting of the minds, and what I saw just did not jive with what I knew so there has to be another explanation."  
  
"Tell me what you saw because I am not following you."  
  
"All right, I saw an intelligent, proud, and deeply honest young man, and I felt like I was looking at a total stranger. I felt like I was looking into a face I had never seen before and hearing a voice I did not recognise because it was filled with humility and respect... FOR ME!"  
  
"Good Lord..."  
  
"Exactly. If Hell froze over, I could not be more astonished or confused than I am right now. I think someone made a big mistake somewhere... I think somebody rail-roaded this kid because they couldn't find anybody else to blame it on."  
  
"And he was the perverbial 'smoking gun'?"  
  
"So to speak."  
  
"I have often wondered myself... there are so many contradicting things about him that I could never settle in my own concience, but I had no proof because he would never talk to me. He has never opened up and talked to anyone, and that's the bloody trouble with the whole situation. No one knows what really happened that night... no one, but Kenshin."  
  
"And he hasn't found anyone in his whole damned life that he trusts enough to tell the truth to because no one has ever trusted him enough to believe anything he has ever said."  
  
"Oh my God. Do you think he's...  
  
"Innocent? Yes, as a matter of fact... I think I do. What can we do about it? Anything?"  
  
"No, not unless he comes clean and spills the truth to someone and provides some sort of proof that he is, in fact, innocent."  
  
"Sounds like we have a lot of work to do, doesn't it?"  
  
"Yes, it does. What do you have in mind?"  
  
"I am going to try and talk his Father into letting his younger brother, Soujiro transfer here to the School so they can finish their Senior year together."  
  
"That is an excellent idea. If you want, I will write a letter of recommendation for you to send to him supporting the notion. It might be helpful."  
  
"I think that would be extremely helpful. Anything you can do that you think might make Hiko Seijruou willing to part with his other son for nine months."  
  
"I think it would be a good psycological boost to Kenshin's sense of self and family to have his brother there with him. God knows he needs all the help he can get."  
  
"I agree, in fact, that is the main reason I wanted to bring the other boy here. To give him more of a sense of his own family... to have someone around who really cares about HIM."  
  
"It is a good idea, I wish we had thought of it two years ago when he first started to show real signs of withdrawl and purposeful isolation of himself, but it never even occurred to me. I guess, maybe I'm not as good a theropist as I think I am."  
  
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Elaine. I was... I am worse than that. I was more than happy to believe he was just an insolent, disrespectful smart ass kid than a boy who could really use some good old fashioned Fatherly understanding."  
  
"I guess we both blew it then."  
  
"Looks that way."  
  
"Well, let's try and fix it while we still have a chance, shall we?"  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
"I'll fax you that letter as soon as I get it drafted up, Master Saitou. I promise you will have it no later than tomarrow afternoon."  
  
"Thank-you, Elaine, and thank-you for listening to the ramblings of an old School Master whose been around teenagers way too long to still be sane."  
  
"Not a problem, Master. Call me if you need anything else."  
  
"I will, and thank-you again."  
  
"You are welcome. Good-bye now."  
  
"Good-bye." 


	2. Hiding Out

Chapter Two  
  
Hiding Out  
  
Friday, 4:23 pm  
  
Three days after the Karate' Kata Finals  
  
"Hey! Himura, I got something I want to ask ya. Wait up will ya." Sanosuke jogged up next to the red head who had stopped and turned around when he heard his name. "Whew, you're a tough guy to find, ya know."  
  
"Really," Kenshin's voice was smooth but laced with sarcasm and just a touch of his personality signiture insolence. "Maybe I didn't want to be found, Sagara. Ever think of that?"  
  
"Huh?" The boy towered over Kenshin by at least five inches, but that had never made any difference when it came to guts,muscles, or skill in a fight. He had found himself looking at the ceiling and the floor way too many times to under estimate the shorter boy when he heard that particular tone in his voice. "Hey, look... don't go gettin' all twisted out of shape on me, Ok. I just wanted to talk to you, Man. Geez, why you so touchy all the time?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe I don't like being bothered with stupid bullshit that doesn't matter to me, or maybe I don't like being bothered with stupid bullshit that doesn't concern me, OR maybe I just don't like you, and your stupid bullshit, Sagara. Take your pick, which one do you think it is?"  
  
"Ok, fine. So you don't like being bothered and you don't like me, what's the big news flash, huh? You don't like anybody, Himura, and you don't hang out anywhere in particular, so you never know anything that's going around here anyway. Your like a ghost or something the way you creep around."  
  
"A ghost? I guess I can go with that, although, I always pictured myself as more of a spider type, because I DO actually know more about what goes on in this sorry excuse for a school that you think I do."  
  
"Great for you. What do you do, hide in the hallways and the bathroom stalls?"  
  
"Nah, I just know how to disappear. You know, fade into the back ground and just go unnoticed. It's real easy once you get the hang of it. Maybe you should learn how to do it, Sagara, then you could spare most of us from having to suffer the pleasure of your presance."  
  
"You're really an asshole, aren't you, Himura. No wonder you don't have any friends."  
  
"Hmmm, you think? Gosh, and here I thought it was because I only shower once a month. Damn!" Lavendar eyes twinkled with sarcastic amusement as they watched the other boy's discomfort grow the longer they talked, but Kenshin was not in the greatest mood and did he not really feel like making Sanosuke feel like a total fool, so he decided to give him a break. "All right, allright... So I'm an asshole, big deal. Your a fucking idiot, but at least your parents come to visit you more often that once or twice a year."  
  
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"It doesn't. What did you want to say to me." Kenshin allowed a genuine smile of friendly indulgence to curl his lips as he nonchalantly folded his arms and waited for Sanosuke to speak. Of course, he was innerly shaking his head in dismay because the other boy had not even noticed that he had just beed called a 'fucking idiot'. 'Sad, Wasted... Predictable.'  
  
"Well, umm..." Now that he actually had permission from the prickly red head to talk, Sanosuke found himself stumbling over his own words. 'Dammit! Why does he always make me feel like a stupid country boy with hay for brains? 'Cause you are a stupid country-boy, Sagara, duh.' He hated it when his inner voice had the gall to come up with a logical answer for everything. "Ok, listen. There is a bunch of us who are going to sneak off campus and go out to Hackler's Point tonight, and we wanted to know if you were interested in coming. That's all." He had big round brown eyes, and at the moment they looked like they might pop right out of his skull they were open so wide. "Whadaya say? You up for it? Huh?"  
  
"What's the big draw out to Hackler's Point?" There was something strange going on here, and Kenshin was not so sure he liked it. Something about this whole thing smelled wrong, but he could not quite put his finger on it. "Is this some sort of tribal-manhood inititiation cerimont or something?"  
  
"Geez, you are a sarcastic jerk. Don't you ever say anything nice to anybody." Kenshin just smiled blandly and shrugged." Whatever," Sanosuke shook his head in defeat and wondered for the millionth time why he was wasting his time with this guy. "You know I can't believe you have been here for three years and you don't know what's out on 'The Point'. I mean, everybody knows what's out there."  
  
"Really? Everybody? Sounds majorly important, Sagara. Majorly... That's funny, you know, because I can't hardly imagine YOU knowing anything important. Can you?" He raised both dark brown eyebrows in a mock show of inquisitiveness, and Sanosuke sneered back.  
  
'Asshole.' "The Lighthouse, Man." Kenshin just looked at him with the same bland stare. "Geez, you really don't know anything that goes on around here that's WORTH knowing, do you? The Lighthouse is supposed to be haunted." Sanosuke lifted his long-fingered hands into the air and wiggled them around, while he hunched his shoulders and started making ghost-like sounds and walking around funny. "OooooOOooooOOO... You know, ghosts and stuff. It's supposed to be scarier that Hell out there, and tonight is the best time to go."  
  
"Why?" This was a bad idea.  
  
"It's a new moon, Man. It'll be almost completely dark... no moonlight or nothin'. Just the stars and that's all. Way cool huh."   
  
"Yeah, way cool..." The voice was just as bland as the look on Kenshin's face as he continued to think it all sounded like a bad idea. "So, whose 'the bunch' that are going on this ghoulish little picnic of yours?" 'I can hardly wait, and I bet I can guess half of them.'  
  
"Ummm, let's see.... Me, of course." He thumped his chest proudly.  
  
"Duh... God, Sagara, you really are a no-brainer aren't you."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Sorry, who else is going?"  
  
"Uhhhmm... Shinomori and his girlfriend, Tomoe Yukishiro, Linka Gensai, the Weasal and the Fox girls, Ruakii and his little sister, and the two new kids... and you, if you aren't too chicken." A sinister sneer covered Sanosuke's usually absent minded face as he leaned down to glare into the shorter boys violet eyes. He was hoping that his last statement would rattle Kenshin's stoic detached attitude a little, but when he looked into those glittering crystaline orbs, he knew he had failed. 'Dammit!' He swore to himself. 'What the hell does it take to rattle your cage, Man?'  
  
"Oh Gosh, hmmmm... Let's see... am I too big of a chicken to go?" Sanosuke rolled his eyes back as he listened to Kenshin's voice drip with sarcasm and insolant bad humor, and when he did finally look at the red haired teen, he was absently tapped his chin with a long pale finger as if lost in very deep thought, but the look on his face belied that notion. "Gee, hmmmm... I don't know, Sagara. I'd be violating my parole by going off campus without permission from the Master Wolf... I could really get into a lot of trouble... Boy, Oh boy, I don't know... Hmmmmm...."  
  
"Geez, were you always this big of a prick, or did it take killin' that old man to fuck you up this bad?" The words were hardly out of his mouth before Sanosuke found him self thrown so violently to the ground that several of his vertebrae popped. "Ooooff! What the..." And then Kenshin was bending a knee into his chest effectively crushing most of the air out of his lungs, while pushing a very strong fist underneath his chin at the same time. Little blue and white stars started circling around his head and his vision began closing in on itself.  
  
'Oh My God... He's gonna kill me! He's gonna kill me!! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!' He was screaming in terror inside his mind, but not even the smallest squeak came out of his mouth. It dawned on him at that moment that he had inadvertantly stumbled on the one thing that it took to rattle Kenshin Himura's cage, and now the ferocious little red-headed beast was on the loose and crawling down his throat. Sanosuke tried to look up into the face above him, and a shudder of pure terror went through him. Kenshin's eyes were not that sissy violet color anymore. Somehow they had changed into two glowing coals of amber fire, and they were filled with an anger Sanosuke had never seen in a human being before.  
  
"Listen to me, you little shit." The voice was a feral growel coming from deep inside Kenshin's chest, and when he pulled his lips back in a snarl of purest anger, Sanosuke was allowed to see the demon that lived in his soul, and it scared him more than anything he had ever seen. "You don't know me... You don't know anything about me, and don't EVER presume that you do. Nobody knows what went down that night... NOBODY!! Least of all a stupid idiot like you. You can't even tie your own shoelaces let alone figure out my life or understand anything more complex than scratching your own ass. So don't fuck with me, you got that? Don't ever fuck with me or you'll be wearing your teeth around your neck." Then he backed off and stood up his breathing short and harsh as he struggled to calm the fury that had exploded within his heart and soul. 'He doesn't know anything... I should not have done that... I can't believe I did that... I really scared the shit out of him... He did not deserve that... I need to get a grip, get a grip, Kenshin... get a grip, Man.'  
  
"Holy shit..." Sanosuke was still shaking like a leaf in the wind, and he was praying desperately that he had not pissed on himself while looking into the face of his own demise. As he lay there, he could not remember any other time he had ever been that scared. He had really thought Kenshin was going to kill him, and the way his eyes had changed... creepy, unnatural, way unnatural. Totally unreal. Sanosuke did not know peoples eyes could do that.  
  
"Here." The sound of a quiet polite voice beside him brought him drifting back into reaility. 'What was going on?'  
  
"Wha.." He looked up and became totally confused by what he saw.  
  
"I'll help you up. Here, take my hand and I will help you get up."  
  
"Are you serious?? You just tried to kill me, Man." 'He was insane.'  
  
"If I had wanted to kill you, Sano, don't you think you'd be dead by now?" The usually snide voice suddenly sounded very different to Sanosuke. It almost sounded... sad? depressed? defeated? sorry? reproachful? Wierd.  
  
"You're not gonna' clobber me again are you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You swear?"  
  
"Oh for God's sake, just give me your hand."  
  
"Ok. But you better not do anything."  
  
Sanosuke reached up and grasped the hand that was being offered to him and it gripped his hard pulling him easily to his feet. He stumbled a little bit as a wave of light headedness washed over him, and he had to bend over to rest his hands on his knees so he could lower his head.  
  
"You Ok?" Was that concern?  
  
"Yeah, I guess so." He drew in a deep breath trying to steady himself, and then slowly stood up to face Kenshin. "Look Man, I didn't really mean anything by what I said, it's just sometimes you're so..." His face turned thougtful and he began to scratch his head as he searched for the words he wanted.  
  
"I know, Sano. I'm an insolent, frustrating, stubborn, bad-ass and nobody knows how to approach me because I'm like a volcano waiting to blow up, and everybody is afraid they are going to get burned."  
  
"Yeah, that's about right, but I was thinking a nuclear bomb was closer... you know, all the radiation fall-out and everything." A big grin split his thin face as he decided his description was the better of the two.  
  
"A nuclear bomb, huh? Not bad... I guess that works for me." Kenshin dropped his head and stared at the toes of his sneakers for a long moment, and then he did something that nearly had Sanosuke in seizures. "I am sorry, Sano. Truly I am. I should never have done that to you. It is just that sometimes I have this really horrible temper, and I have not quite learned how to keep a grip on it. I know I scared you, and I am really sorry." He actually sounded sincere. This was very wierd.  
  
"Hey Man, it's cool..." Sanosuke felt extremely unsettled by this abrupt change in a boy he had always thought was nothing more than a cold-hearted asshole. But there was the exact same boy standing right in front of him apologizing for almost scaring him to death. He was not sure how to take that. "Look, I'm Ok. You didn't break any of my bones or anything." Their gazes met for a moment and they both smiled wanly. "But you're right. You did scare the hell out of me."  
  
Kenshin laughed very softly, and shook his head in sad self reproach. "I am sorry though. I should not have done that to you. I guess the only excuse I have is you pushed the right button."  
  
"Or the WRONG one."  
  
"Yeah, I guess that would be more appropriate considering what happened, wouldn't it?"  
  
"I think so." Both boys laughed a little nervously, and then it grew quiet. Several long moments passed before either of them spoke again, and when one of them did, it was shocking what was said.  
  
"Nobody knows, you know." Kenshin's voice was just barely above a whisper and Sanosuke was taken aback by the fragileness he heard in it. It almost had the tone of a small sad child to it.  
  
"Knows what?" He asked quietly as he stepped a little closer.  
  
"What happened."  
  
"What do you mean, 'What happened?'? What happened? What are you talking about, Kenshin?" Sanosuke sounded more confused than usual as he stared at the pale frozen profile of the strangest kid he had ever met. But now, for some reason, he really wanted to know what was going on inside that kid's head. He wanted to know what it was that made a kid like him pull away from everyone and hide behind a bad-ass attitude so nobody got too close, because he had a sinking feeling, that was exactly the kind of kid Kenshin was.  
  
"Nobody knows anything about what happened that night. I tried to tell them, but they would not listen to me. I was just a punk, so I could not possibly be telling them the truth. You know what I mean?" Deeply sad eyes turned to look at Sanosuke for a brief moment, and Sano nodded his understanding feeling like a big blanket of depression was dropping over his head as he did. "No one has ever believed me... I guess that is why I don't trust anyone... that's why I push everyone away... it's why I don't have any friends." The expression on his face was sad when he looked up into the hazy blue sky and shrugged. "I decided a while ago that it's better to stand alone and fight the whole world than it is fighting alone against a world that doesn't know you exist."  
  
Sanosuke suddenly felt very bad about what he had said to Kenshin. He also began to believe more and more that Kenshin was not really as tough as he appeared to be. "Did you do it, Kenshin? Did you kill that old man like everybody says you did?"  
  
"No. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong crowd."  
  
"Then if you didn't do it, how'd they pin it on you?"  
  
"I was the only one they found around the place. Everyone else got away clean. No finger prints, no video, no eye witnesses, nothing."  
  
"Ok, but I still don't get it. How'd they find you and not the other guys?"  
  
"Because I did not get away like they did. I tripped over a big pile of garbage in the alley behind the old man's store and landed all wrong, and I broke my leg... can you believe that shit?" He laughed a bland ironic sound that made Sanosuke wince. "I didn't do a damn thing, and I fall on my ass, break my leg, and get blamed for the whole fucking thing because I was the only one who could not get away."  
  
"You know, there's rumors all over the school that you shot him; blew a hole big enough to drive a bus through in the midded of his damn chest, and that you ended up wiping his blood all over your clothes and stuff because you didn't want to mess up the merchandise you were gonna lift."  
  
"Sounds about right for the mentality of this place..." He snorted in disgust and discouragment. "I did not shoot him, Sano." There was a long pause before Kenshin continued. "But I did end up with his blood all over my clothes. One of my so-called buddies was trying to get the gun out of his hand, and during the struggle, the gun went off, and it did blow a huge hole right in the middle of his chest. Then everything started to move in slow motion reel-time stuff. There I am watching this big puff of gray smoke come out from between the two of them, and then the old man comes flying straight backwards and smashes right into me. We go sailing off through the air like a fast-ball headed to homeplate, until we hit the wall like a ton of bricks. Next thing I know, we are both on the floor and he's laying in my lap with his head up around my chest, and there's a river of blood pouring out of his chest, his mouth, and his nose and he's coughing it up and spraying it all over the place. I remember he reached back and grabbed the front of my jacket and tried to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth but little whistling sounds and a bunch more blood. That was when my buddies ditched me." Kenshin turned away and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black satin letterman's jacket and started digging at the grass with the toe of his sneaker. "They knelt down in front of me and that poor old man, looked me in the eye, and said, "Hey Man, sorry 'bout this, but we gotta fly, the cops are commin'. You understand... We can't get caught, Man. We gots to go." I guess that was when I first heard the sirens... God, it sounded like every Cop in town was on his way, and my buddies took a fly out the back door and left me behind with that old man bleeding to death all over me. I could not believe they left me behind... just like that, you know. They didn't even blink and eye, they just turned their backs on me and ran." Violet eyes gazed blankly into the distance as the memory of that betrayal weighed heavy on Kenshin's mind. "Sometimes, I still can't believe it. They just left me there."  
  
"And these were the guys who were supposed to be your friends?"  
  
"Yes. We'd been hanging out together for two or three years, you know. Scronging around the streets and stuff. We did a little breaking and entering, but we never actually stole anything. We were just doing it for the rush, you know." He favored Sano with an ironic self recriminating smile. "What a rush, huh?" Then he chuckled morosely to himself. "Yeah, what a rush... stupid. The other guys, they got into a little bit of vandalism, but nothing too serious. I never went with them when they did that... It just wasn't my style, you know, but in all that time, nobody ever got hurt... there was never anybody around when we were screwing off, and we'd never gotten caught before... at least, I had never gotten caught before. They all had juvinile RAP sheets as long as my arm."  
  
"Didn't you think maybe they weren't exactly the best bunch of dudes to be hanging with when you found THAT out?  
  
"Yes, but I thought it made me look cool to hang out with the 'bad kids', and besides," A wicked smile crossed his lean face. "It really pissed off my parents because they were just the kind of kids they DIDN'T want me to hang with."  
  
"Awwww... I think I'm getting a picture here. You don't get along with your folks to good, is that it?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know, I guess we get along all right, as long as I fade into the background and don't make any waves or problems that they might have to deal with... as long as I don't do anything that makes them have to deal with Me."  
  
"That's what you were talking about before..." Sanosuke muttered to himself as he recalled what Kenshin had said about HIS parents coming to see him more than once a year, and about fighting against a world that doesn't know you exist. "So, you hung out with the raunchy crowd to try and get their attention?"  
  
"Sort of, well maybe in the beginning, but then I did it because I wanted to. They were my friends and we had a good time together. So, it sort of achieved two goals with one solution."  
  
"You had your friends and did whatever the hell you wanted, and pissed your parents off at the same time. Is that it?"  
  
"Yes. But at least they did notice me once in a while."  
  
"Oh yeah, great. I'll bet they noticed. I'll bet Friday nights at the Himura house were a real grand ole' party time, weren't they?"  
  
"The Seijurou house." Kenshin's voice had dropped again to the point Sanosuke could hardly hear him, and his face had frozen in a look of icy anger.  
  
"The what?"  
  
"The Seijurou house," He said irritably. "You said 'The Himura house' and that is wrong. It's The Seijurou House."  
  
"Ok, you lost me, Kenshin. What the hell are you talking about now?"  
  
"My Dad died when I was about five I guess, and my Mom got married again when I was eight. His name is Hiko Seijurou, so IT is The Seijurou House. Both my brother and sister are Seijurou's, and my Mom IS a Seijurou too. I am the only Himura in that whole fucking household."  
  
"You've got to be kidding?"  
  
"I don't think so. Hiko has been my step-father for nine years, and he has never given a shit what happened to me. All of his attention is centered on my brother and sister. He does not have time for a troublesome step-son."  
  
"You've got a brother and sister, Kenshin? Wow, I didn't know that. I don't think anybody knows that. Are they younger or older?"  
  
"Younger." The tone of his voice softened and the features of his face became pensive. "My step-brother, Soujiro, is the same age as I am only I am older by four and a half months. Our little sister, Cleo, is almost five. I haven't seen her since she was a baby."  
  
"Wha... Why not? Doesn't she come with the rest of your family when they visit?"  
  
"No."  
  
"No?! Why not?!" His voice was filled with incredulity and shock and a little outrage. Sanosuke could not believe what he had just heard. Kenshin had a little sister he had not seen for almost four years. What the hell was going on here?  
  
"They do not bring her when they come."  
  
"Why, Kenshin? Why don't they bring her? I can't believe you haven't see your own sister for almost four years. That's just plain wrong. What the hell is wrong with your family. Do you know why they dont bring her along?" The level of Sano's outrage was growing by the minute. The more he learned about Kenshin's family, the angrier he became.  
  
"I guess... maybe... Shit, I don't know anymore. They don't bring Cleo because they don't want her to see Me 'locked up'. They think I'll be a bad influence on her like this, and Hiko believes that she is too impressionable and too intelligent to lie to about 'this'. So they decided not to let me see her until I'm 'fully rehabilitated'. That is what Hiko and MY mother decided was the best thing for MY little sister... but what is best for me? Who gives a fuck. They don't. They never did."  
  
"You have got to be kidding. That is the biggest pile of bullshit I ever heard in my life." Sano shook his head sending his shaggy shock of dark brown hair dancing about his forehead. "Man, you got a raw deal coming and going. First, it sounds like you got stuck with the family from Hell, and then your buddies turn out to be A1 punks. Geez, Kenshin, no wonder you don't trust anybody." Kenshin did not respond to Sanosuke's abrasive remark. He just looked back down at the hole he was making in the grass with his shoe.   
  
"So... What happened after your so-called punk buddies left you behind that night? What did you do?"  
  
Kenshin wrinkled his brow for a moment as he reached back into his mind and touched the hated memories of that night, but despite the repugnance they carried for him, he decided maybe it could be a good thing if he finally told someone everything that had gone down. Considering his current reputation, it could not hurt.  
  
"It took a bit of work, but I finally got the old man off me. I was really panicking by that time because I could hear all those sirens coming closer. But I think it was really too late by that time anyway. The Cops were right outside of the door on the sidewalks, but I thought I might still have a chance, so I went flying as fast as I could and tore my way out the back door into the alley. I tripped and fell over that shit because I was too busy looking over my shoulder to see if anybody was following me. That was probably the stupidest thing I could have done. It broke my leg right in half and dropped me to the ground. It hurt so bad I couldn't even crawl, and the next thing I know I'm being yanked up off the ground like an old bag of clothes. All these Cops were standing around yelling in my face, calling me a filthy little punk murderer and stuff like that. I kept trying to tell them that I didn't do anything, but they wouldn't listen to me. No one would listen. All they would say was "We caught you red-handed, boy, or maybe we should say red-headed." And then they would all laugh."  
  
"Didn't anybody notice you were hurt or anything?" Sanosuke's voice was filled with astonishment and anger as he listened to the rest of Kenshin's story unfold.  
  
"Yeah, they knew I was hurt. They ALL knew." His voice held a cold ominous tone that made the hair on Sanosuke's neck stand up, and he suddenly felt like the world around him was getting really small.  
  
"What did they do to you, Kenshin?" He was almost too afraid to ask.  
  
"Made me walk on it... all the way back through the alley, through the store, and up to the patrol car. Then I was being ordered to get in and sit down on the backseat. I told them I couldn't... I told them my leg was broke and it was killing me and I couldn't sit the way they wanted me to. This one Cop, I remember, he was a real hard-ass, you know... well, he gets in my face and starts saying to me that it's just to damned bad that my poor busted up little leg hurts and that I should have thought about that before I blew that old man away. And then... and then..." The voice choked up and Kenshin stopped speaking for a moment. Sanosuke reached out and rested a firm hand on his shoulder and, to his utter disbelief, discovered Kenshin was shaking.  
  
"He... He shoved you into the car... didn't he? He grabbed you and shoved you into the backseat of that fucking car and bent your leg. He refused to let you put it up on the seat like it should have been... didn't he?" Kenshin nodded in stiff silence and then swallowed hard.  
  
"I passed out. I couldn't take it, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was in some sort of infirmary and my parents were there. I could hear them talking to some guy about my leg, and I heard him say that it was a good clean break and should heal without any complications. That seemed to relieve them somewhat, but then they were talking about what had happened, and I couldn't believe what I heard them saying." His voice choked up again and he had to stop talking for a few more minutes. Sanosuke waited without saying a word, and when Kenshin started talking again, he voice was low and filled with a pain that Sano had never heard before.  
  
"They were asking what kind of deal they could get for me to reduce my prison sentance because I was only a boy; I was only 14. Then I could hear them apologizing for me being such a bad kid and saying they just didn't know where they had gone wrong with me because my brother was such a good boy. They could not understand what had driven me to do such a terrible thing, and yet they stood there and told that person that I had always been their most difficult child. I was the one they had worried about getting into trouble the most. I-I couldn't believe it... My parents were selling me out to the Cops without even asking ME what had happened... They have never asked me what happened that night. Not once. They just assumed I was guilty the same as everyone else, and handed me over to the County District Attourney's Office without saying a single word to me about anything. Then they turned their backs to me and walked away."  
  
"Whoa... that's... I think that's the worst thing I have ever heard, Kenshin. I really mean that. How could your folks just hand you over like that without even talking to you about what happened? How could they not even ask you one time what happened? I can't imagine my Dad doing anything like that to me. I mean, he's a hard-ass when he has to be, but he has always listened to me when I had something to say. He's never just ASSUMED anything on me. He's always asked me first and waited to hear my side of the story. I can't even begin to imagine how it would feel if he never believed anything I said to him... I'm sorry, Kenshin. I'm sorry your folks were like that, and I'm sorry they did what they did to you. It never should have happened. They should have been in there fighting for you, not throwing you away like yesterday's garbage. I know if anything bad happened to me, my Dad would be right there doing everything he could to help me... no matter what."  
  
"Then you are lucky, Sanosuke Sagara, and I envy you."  
  
"No, I'm not lucky. I'm normal... I have a NORMAL Father and a NORMAL family life. You got cheated, Man. You got ripped off and cheated out of a normal life, and it's wrong. It's way wrong. It never should have gone down that way. You shouldn't be here."   
  
"Then you are saying you believe me, Sano? You believe everything I told you is the truth?" There was a sound of shock and surprise in Kenshin's voice, and Sanosuke turned and found Kenshin looking right at him. His eyes were violet once more, but were this time they were filled with a sort of hopeful confusion as he searched Sanosuke's face. "You really believe I am innocent? You believe I didn't do it?"  
  
"Hell yes. I might be stupid, but I'm not a total idiot. I know the truth when I hear it. Besides, you were right about one thing."  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"If you had wanted to kill me, I'd have probably been dead before I hit the ground, and if you had already killed somebody before then it really wouldn't have bothered you to do it again. But you didn't... In fact, you felt bad about what you did... You're no killer, Kenshin. You might be an asshole and a sarcastic moody prick, but you're no killer."  
  
Kenshin smiled and laughed out loud. "Thank-you Sano, that means more to me than you can possibly know or understand."  
  
"What? Me calling you an asshole and a sarcastic prick?"  
  
"No, you idiot. That you believe me... Geez, you really do function on a differnt wave length than the rest of us, don't you?"  
  
"I guess so." He shrugged and grinned. "But at least I make life a lot more interesting."  
  
"That you do, my friend. That you do." And Kenshin Himura did something he had never done in his entire life. He offered his hand to Sanosuke Sagara in friendship, and Sano took it.  
  
"There, now you don't have to stand alone against the whole world anymore, Kenshin Himura." He said in a quiet serious voice as he gripped the other boys hand firmly. "I would be proud to stand and fight at your side,and I would be proud to call you my friend." Kenshin had allowed Sanosuke the rare privledge of seeing inside of his carefully constructed defense barriers, and Sano had entered in as a friend. Kenshin released the hand he held and took two steps back, and when he caught Sanosuke's eye, he nodded to him in aknowledgment of their new relationship then he bowed formally in a show of respect.  
  
"Thank-you, Sano." He said when he rose and faced the gapping mouthed teen. "I have never had a friend I felt like I could trust. I think I can trust you... Can I trust you, Sano? Can I trust you, or will I be forever watching my back waiting for you to betray me just the same as everyone else in my life has?"  
  
"No way, Kenshin." Sanosuke threw his shoulders back and stood up straight and tall as he met his new friends wary gaze. "I don't do that to my friends. I don't believe in that shit."  
  
"What do you believe in, Sanosuke Sagara?"  
  
"If you go in together, you come out together or you don't come out at all." His brown eyes sparkled fiercly with the fervor of his convictions, and Kenshin could do nothing but believe him. "I promise I'll be there to watch your back, Kenshin. It's not like you really NEED anybodies help in a fight, but everybody needs somebody to watch their back for those sucker punches they don't see comin'."  
  
"And you are going to watch my back for sucker punches? Is that it?"  
  
"Yup. That's it."  
  
"All right then, if you are really serious about that, you will have to start right now."  
  
"Right now?" Sanosuke's face registered confusion. "Whadaya mean?"  
  
"If I go with you on your little outing tonight, you're going to have to watch my back around Ruakii. After all, I did kick his ass in front of the entire Kata class, AND earn the Wolf's respect at the same time. I think he is probably pretty pissed off at me over that."  
  
"Hmmmmm, I hadn't thought about that. You're probably right... Ok. It's a done deal. If you think you can sneak out of your room without getting caught, then I'll meet you down by the Eastside stream at 11:30."  
  
"Why the Eastside stream? There is no road over there."  
  
"I know, but there's an old foot trail that is supposed to lead down to the coast line, and then it's a straight shot up to the point."   
  
"Ahhh, I see. All right. I'll be there at 11:30... Is everyone showing up there?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Sano? Did I hear you right before? Did you say the 'new kids' are coming?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"Just exactly 'who' are the 'new kids'?"  
  
"Come on, you know... that one girl... she's in Old Man Gensai's morning Chem class... has really long black hair that's always hanging in her face... you know?"  
  
"Yes, I know her." Kenshin felt the muscles tighten up in his stomach as he thought about the shy girl with the long black hair who had appeared in his Chemistry class, then his Art class, his English class, and finally his Ancient Japanese History class. His eyes were drawn to her like magnets, and he could not seem to stop looking at her. She had never seemed to notice though because she always sat with her head bent down causing her hair to creat a thick black curtain around her face. He had gotten to see her face a few times, and even though they were only brief glimpses, he had been able to discover she had petite almost elfin features. But it was her eyes that had really gotten to him. They were enormous in that delicatly structured face. They looked like twin pools of liquid cobalt, and for the brief moment he had caught their glance, Kenshin had found himself drawn into them until he was lost within their warm velvety depths. The memory of those incredible eyes had been haunting him for the last three days, and now he was being given the opportunity to actually be with her in a social engagement. He may actually get the opportunity to talk to her and hear her voice. A shiver of anticipation raced along his spine and tingled in his hands and feet as he considered the possible outcomes this one night could have on his future.  
  
"Her little brother is going to come too. I guess he thinks he's a little hard-ass and has been bragging all over campus that he's not scared of anything."  
  
"How old is he?"  
  
"I don't know. About 13 or 14 I think. He's old enough to eat his own words if he's a back-house bragger though."  
  
"I suppose, but none the less, someone will have to keep an eye on him if he does actually come. He's not exactly at the age of self-control yet, and he could get scared enough to go running off."  
  
"Hmmmm, I guess that is true enough. Ok, I'll help keep an eye on the brat, but I'm not letting him get in the way of my other plans." His brown eyes twinkled wickedly and the smile that crossed his face was purely male.  
  
Kenshin raised one elegant dark brown eyebrow questioningly and asked, "What other plans?"  
  
"I've got my eye set on something else besides watching out for some screaming brat."  
  
"And that 'something else' would be?"  
  
"Megumi Takani."  
  
"Interesting taste, Sano. I didn't know you were into spoiled self-centered little girls."  
  
"Hey, she's not that bad. She's just... well, she's just got really rich parents, and that's not her fault."  
  
"No, that is not her fault." Kenshin smothered a chuckled behind the ruse of rubbing his nose. "But that does not change the fact that she is self-centered and a bit snobbish."  
  
"Maybe, but she has a lot of good points too, you know."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Liiiikkke.... She is really pretty, and her hair looks really soft, and... well, she is really pretty."  
  
"Ok, Sano. She is very pretty, but you need more in a girl than for her to just be pretty. Does she like you?"  
  
"I dunno." He shrugged and punched his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "She's never really talked to me or anything, but she does look at me sometimes."  
  
"She looks at you sometimes?? Ok, well, I guess that is a start." He shook his head as another round of laughter threatened to spill from his mouth. "Sano? Have you ever even said 'Hello' to this girl?"  
  
"Ummmm, well,.... ahhhh, not exactly. I don't know what to say to her... She's so pretty, and... well... Dammit! I just don't know what to say, that's all." His voice turned rough with his increased frustration.  
  
"Ok,ok... I understand, but if you have 'plans' for her, you have got to at least be able to speak to her, don't you think?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so. But I don't know how to do that."  
  
"Ahhhh... Come with me, my friend, and we will discuss the complexities of learning how to say, 'Hello, My name is Sanosuke Sagara, and I think you have a great ass."  
  
"KENSHIN! I can't say THAT. She'd kill me or something."  
  
"Ok," He failed to control the rich laughter that tumbled over his lips that time. "I will try to be serious. Come on, and lets see if we can figure out how to teach you to say 'Hello', all right?"  
  
"Yeah, Ok. Kenshin?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Not a problem." And the two teens ambled off across the green carpet of grass heading in the direction of the boy's dormatory. They made for a strange coupling with one being so tall and the other so much shorter, but they had come to an important understanding between them, and that was all that really mattered. Being friends and being able to trust each other was the most important thing after all, what more was there to have?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Are you sure he's going to be there? I'm not wasting my time if he's not, so you better be absolutely certain." Ruakii always seemed to have the ability to look more like a sewer rat than the Wolf his father was, and his younger sister, Quii, was very good about pointing that out to him.  
  
"Of course I'm certain he's going to be there. I told you already, you deranged neanderthol, I saw the two of them talking all buddy-buddy out on the Quad this afternoon, and then they walked off together towards the Dorm." Quii rolled her piercing yellow-gold eyes back into their sockets as her level of irritation with her brother started to become unbearable. "What is it with you and HIM anyway? You're starting to act like a dog stuck on a raccoon's scent, Ruakii, and you're acting just as stupid as one too."  
  
"Hey, shut-up Runt. Nobody asked your opinion, did they?" He glared daggers at her from his reflection in the bathroom mirror where he was brushing his thick steel colored hair for the hundredth time. Quii was leaning nonchalantly against the door frame watching him like always, and just stuck her tongue out at him when he snapped at her. "You know one of these days I'm going to beat the shit out of you, Runt."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Go whine to somebody who cares, Ruakii." She waved him off with a eligant flip of her hand as she turned and walked back into her room. Flopping back down on her unmade bed, she looked back across the hallway and considered her brother for a few more seconds. "You never answered my question, Stupid."  
  
"What question?" He was always so enthralled with his own reflection that half the time he never noticed when she insulted him. It worked out well for her.  
  
"What is it with you and the Himura kid? So he kicked your butt in Kata finals, you still passed with one of the highest scores."  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"I heard Dad talking to Mom about it a couple of nights ago."  
  
"You heard THEM TALKING ABOUT ME?" His voice rose to a dangerous tone as his glare took on a murderous gleam.  
  
"Calm down, all I heard him say was Himura beat you out for the number one spot in the class, but that you finished right behind him."  
  
"I finished SECOND? I finished behind HIM? FUCK!" He slamed his fist against the wall making the mirror shudder dangerously.  
  
"Hey! There are children presant. Watch your mouth."  
  
"Yeah? Where?" Ruakii tossed his head rudely in her direction before going back to the mirror, and Quii just laid there and watched him for a few more minutes.  
  
"You know something?" Her voice was quiet and just a little bit sad.  
  
"What?" He did not seem to notice. Ruakii never noticed anything unless it was in the mirror.  
  
"One of these days... you're going to say something to me that I won't be able to forgive you for."  
  
"Yeah, so? What's your point?"  
  
"If I stop listening to your crap all the time, and talking to you, who will?"  
  
"Hmmm, good point I suppose. But that won't ever happen."  
  
"You think?"  
  
"I know."  
  
"You KNOW? Geez you're an arrogant jerk. How do you KNOW that it won't ever happen?"  
  
"Because you wouldn't ever be able to keep your nose out of my business that long, and God knows, you wouldn't be able to keep your mouth shut that long... you'd have to say something to me eventually. So, you see, I don't have anything to worry about."  
  
"You really are a first prize dick."  
  
"Hey! Watch your mouth, Runt. You don't talk like that!"  
  
"No, just you talk like that, right?"  
  
"Well... Yeah, I guess so, but you don't. You got me?"  
  
"Oh sure, big brother. Like you care so much what I do or say."  
  
"Quii... cut it out, ok. Your really starting to get on my nerves."  
  
"Sorry." A long silence followed and then, much to his eternal irritation, she asked him another question. "Can I still come with you tonite, or are you mad and going to make me stay home?"  
  
Ruakii looked across the hallway and saw Quii laying on her back staring at the ceiling in her room. Both arms were thrown over her head and her legs were pulled up at the knees. She looked like she was ten years old instead of 15, and that was something about her that always bothered him. Just when he thought he could not stand her for one more moment, she did or said something that changed his whole point of view on her.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean? I never said you couldn't go. God your irritating, Quii. Why can't you give me a break once in a while? Do you always have to be so difficult to deal with?"  
  
"ME?? Difficult to deal with? BULLSHIT!!!" Suddenly she was up off her bed and her face was only two inches away from his nose in about a half of a second. "YOU wrote the book on 'DIFFICULT' you stupid, ignorant, concieted, moron! And if you weren't my only brother, I'd probably disown you after all of the mean, cruel things you've said and done to me. All I have ever done was try to get along with you... and I try to find a way to fit into your stupid life... but you just don't get it, do you? No, you don't. I love you, you selfish ass... but I don't like you very much most of the time." And then she turned away from his wide-eyed shocked face and marched back into her room slaming the door behind her. The audible click of the locking mechanism was heard next, and then her radio came on.   
  
Ruakii guessed that meant she did not want to talk anymore. He was not sure at this point in his life what was more difficult to understand, girls or sisters? It was a close race. It was very very close.   
  
  
  
Thank-you for reading my new Kenshin fiction. Please Review.  
  
***Update*** The next chapters 6-7 of 'Beloved of The White Flame' will be up very shortly... I hope. I am in the process of editing content and fixing problems.   
  
The second half of chapter three for "Master of High Tower" on the Fictionpress site should also be up soon. Trust me, I am staying very busy. :) Tsuki-san. 


	3. Hackler's Point

A/N: '' Are being used to indicate thoughts. Please be aware other wise there are things that won't make sense and you will get confused.  
  
Ive Payne Campus, Eastside  
  
Friday, October 2001  
  
11:37 pm  
  
"Come on, Kaoru. We are already late. If we don't hurry, they will leave without us so hurry up will ya." The impatient voice of her younger brother floated back through the dark and grated on Kaoru's ears causing her to grit her teeth. 'Why did he have to be so darn irritating all of the time? Why couldn't he be more like... like... like a sister?'  
  
"I am coming, Yahiko. Don't get your shorts twisted up in a knot. They are not going to leave without us. We are probably not the only ones still on their way... and we are not THAT late, for heaven's sake."  
  
"How would YOU know? You never look at your watch... You never think about time or how long it takes to get someplace... If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't make it to school in the mornings."  
  
"Shut-up, that's not true."  
  
"Is so."  
  
"It is not."  
  
"Yes it is."  
  
"No, it's not."  
  
"Yes, it is, cause you sleep through your alarm all the time.'  
  
"How would you know, you little squid?"  
  
"Because I'm the one who turns it off for you, Stupid, and then I wake you up."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Told you so. So don't talk to me about us not being late or them not leaving us behind because you don't know anything about nothing."  
  
"God... will you shut-up... you are not even making sense anymore."  
  
"Whatever..."  
  
"So, where is everybody, Sagara? You said you had a whole bunch of people who agreed to go with us, but I sure don't see anybody except you, me, Quii, Aoshi and Tomoe." The snide sneering voice of Ruakii Saitou could be heard easily as it ricocheted off the huge bolders that lined the small stream.  
  
"Hey, will you keep it down, Ruakii. You want to bring Security down on us and get us all caught?"  
  
"OOOOOOO... Is poor little Sanosuke Sagara scared of getting caughtby the nasty old Security Guards and put in detention? Ahhh, poor baby."  
  
"Shut-up, you stupid jerk. If you want to get caught, go ahead, but you leave the rest of us out of it. All right?"  
  
"Ewwwww, is that a threat, Sagara?"  
  
"No, it's not a threat... Geez, what is it with you, Man? Are you trying to start a fight, or are you just..." Sano was interrupted by a husky feminine voice before he could finish what he was about to say.  
  
"He has a defective socialization gene on his DNA helix." The smooth silky voice of Megumi Takani floated out of the darkness only moments before she and Misao Machimaki appeared. "You see, He was born an asshole, and there isn't anything he can do about it, is there, Precious?" Most everyone in the small circle knew that Ruakii and Megumi used to be a couple, but not everyone knew WHY they had broken up. THAT had remained a very closely guarded secret dispite the level of gossip that flew through the school. The only ones privey to that top secret information were the couple themselves, and Misao. No one else knew a thing.  
  
"Oh, Megumi Dearest. How LOVELY it is to see you. I haven't seen you at the feeding trough lately, Darling. What dung heap have you been hiding yourself under these days?"  
  
"Obviously not the same one as you, Darling." She blew him a kiss and then stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm sorry to say I haven't missed you since you've been gone. Hmmm, I wonder why?"  
  
Ruakii glared at her, but said nothing. His younger sister, Quii, looked between the two older teens and walked away shaking her head in disgust. She stopped next to Tomoe Yukishiro and her boyfriend, Aoshi Shinomori, folded her arms across her chest, and looked at her brother in irritation.  
  
"What?" He asked in frustration shrugging his shoulders. Quii just shook her head and rolled her eyes and then refused to look at him anymore. An angry frown creased Ruakii's young lean face as he felt both his sisters reproach of his actions and dismissal of his person. He hated it when she did this to him. I always made him feel like the biggest jerk in the world, and he could never figure out how she did that. Even their parents could not make him feel that rotten. Only Quii possessed that unique gift, and it drove him crazy that she had that much power over him. "Fine," He grumbled and walked over to stand alone by the stream. "Whatever."  
  
Megumi watched him leave and a sad introspective look passed over her fine boned features as she dropped her eyes and became lost in her thoughts about Ruakii. Everything had ended so badly between them, but that did not make being intentionally cruel to him acceptable. She did not like the person she became when he was around.   
  
Sanosuke had watched the exchange between the ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend with some little enjoyment until he had seen the look that came over Megumi's face. His heart sank as he watched the sadness and guilt color her pretty face, and he could not help but feel like maybe she was still hung up on the guy.  
  
Off to one side, Misao had been watching the little scene between Megumi and Ruakii unfold with a bitter taste in her mouth, but once Ruakii had walked away, she had noticed something else very intriguing. It appeared she was not the only one who was so interested in the exchange. The Rooster was standing there with a big grin on his face, that was until Megumi let her conscience get the better of her. She was not a mean spirited person by nature, and the attack on Ruakii had been an unnatural thing for her to do, but when she and Misao had found Ruakii snarling in the Rooster's face, Megumi had lost it.  
  
As Misao watched the Rooster watching Megumi, she saw his face fall and he started to turn away from her. 'Whoa, big fella,' Misao thought as she darted through the semi-darkness. 'Don't you go off and leave her like that. She did that crap because of you, and you looked like you were really enjoying it... hmmmm'. She covered the ground between them quickly and reached out to grab a handful of his jacket sleeve.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute," She whispered fiercely. "Where do you think you're going?"  
  
"Huh? What are you talking about, Weasel-girl? I'm trying to walk here, what does it look like I'm doing?""  
  
"I didn't say 'doing' you bozo, I said 'going'... Geez, what a dork. Listen to me, Stupid... Megumi did all that chewing up on Ruakii for YOU, or didn't you notice that?"  
  
"She did?" His face lit up like a big spot light, and Misao could not help but giggle a little bit. He really was just a big goof.  
  
"Yes, she did. Now she feels bad 'cause she's not that kind of person. She doesn't go around being mean and nasty like that to people, she's just not like that."  
  
"I know she's not."  
  
"You do? How would you know what kind of person she is? You haven't so much as looked at her in two years."  
  
"That is not true!" He exclaimed in shocked outrage. "I've have my eye on the Kitsune for a long time, but I... I never knew what to say to her." He finished lamely and looked away from Misao's surprised face.  
  
"All you had to do was say 'Hello' you stupid goof."  
  
"That's all? You have got to be kidding. She deserves a lot more than that... she deserves poetry and fancy talk... I'm just a dumb kid from the country... and I talk like one too."  
  
"So what? She doesn't care..."  
  
"She doesn't?" Big brown eyes searched Misao's animated features hopefully.  
  
"No, she doesn't. So why don't you go over there and say something to her."  
  
"Like what?" He looked horrified by the prospect.  
  
"How should I know... Just say something." She gave him a rough shove in Megumi's direction, and watched him stumbled several steps before regaining his balance. He shot her an embarrassed glare, and then straightened his clothes. She saw him take a deep breath, put his hand over his heart for a second, and then he walked over to Megumi.  
  
"You go, Rooster-boy. She's been waiting for you for a long time." Then Misao's bright blue-green eyes narrowed dangerously as she watched him nervouly start digging a hole in the grass with the toe of his overly big sneaker. "You better not hurt her, Rooster-head, or else you'll be dealing with me, and trust me, you don't want that to happen."  
  
"Do you always stick your nose into other people business, Machimaki?"  
  
Misao squeaked in surprise as she spun around and met the amused eyes of Kenshin Himura. A puff of pale smoke appeared around his face as he blew out the drag he had just taken off his cigarette, and then he stepped closer to her and she could see he was wearing a bland half smile on his handsome face. She had always had half a crush on the mysterious aloof red head ever since she had first laid eyes on him two years ago when she had enrolled in Ive Payne. He just had that ultra mega sex appeal magnetic draw for her that all the really bad-ass types did. She did not know what it was about his type, but the colder and more unobtainable they were, the more attracted she was. Of course, it did not help that he was gorgeous to boot and sexy as hell just to look at. Almost every girl in the school had fantasities about Kenshin Himura, but none of them had the guts to go for him, because of his past and the reason he was here in the first place. Nobody wanted to date a guy that had shot and killed some poor old man just so he could rob him. That was the story anyway, and the thought that he could have done that made her blood run cold. But it did not do a thing to stop her from having her odd nasty fantasy or two about him. After all, there was not another guy in the entire school that could even come close to his incredible looks. The guy was practically perfect, and Misao knew if he was not such a dangerous kid, she would have jumped his bones a long time ago.  
  
"Hey, do you always sneak up on people, Himura?" She was not sure if the tremor in her voice was because he had startled her, or if it was because she had never actually been this close to him before.  
  
"Depends," He shrugged noncomittally and took another drag off his slim cigarette without really looking at her.  
  
"Depends?" She turned to face him in angry confusion. "Depends on WHAT? Whether or not you feel like just being a jerk, or if you are in real asshole mode?" 'Oh my God, did I just say that to HIM? I did! I really did! What the hell am I doing? I can't believe he's even talking to me.' Misao's confusion was quickly turning to panicked incredulty as the reality of having an actual conversation with the ever elusive Kenshin Himura dawned on her as well as the fact that she was being an absolute bitch to him.  
  
"Whoa... calm down, girly." She watched him drop the cigarette butt to the ground and grind it out with his toe. "Are you always this fucking suspicious, or do you just save it all up for the special people?"  
  
"Depends," She sneered trying to maintain her composure, and he started to laugh. Misao shivered beneath the black leather jacket she ware. 'God, that's a sexy sound.' She thought as gooseflesh raced across her skin.  
  
"Ok, fair enough." He retorted in a deeply toned mocking voice. "I guess that one makes us even."  
  
"Gee, I didn't know we were keeping score."  
  
"Damn... Pull your claws back in, Kitty. I really don't feel like having a verbal war with you, Ok." Violet eyes narrowed as they raked her pale face angrily. "And just to set the record straight, Machimaki, I wasn't sneaking up on you. You were just to busy mooning over the Kitsune and the Rooster to even notice me. Not a very good habit to get into if you ask me." He snorted and spit on the grass then turned to walk away from her, but Misao was not quite finished, and, much to her own surprise, reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his black jacket stopping him.  
  
"What? Mooning over them? What would you know about it, Himura. She's my BEST friend, and I don't want to see her get hurt again."  
  
"That is NOT what I meant." He snapped irritably into her fuming face as he turned back to meet her glittering blue-green gaze furiously.  
  
"Then WHAT DID YOU MEAN, EXACTLY?" She snarled not backing down from his violet amber glare. 'God but he's goreous.'  
  
"What I MEANT,EXACTLY, MISS 'DO YOU ALWAYS JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS THAT FUCKING FAST' was, that it's not such a good habit to let yourself fall into allowing all of your senses to be completely occupied by one single thing at any given time. You can get yourself into trouble that way, so your should really try to be more careful and stay better attuned to your surroundings. Your a very pretty girl, so I SHOULD THINK it would be IN YOUR BEST INTEREST. I was NOT insinuating anything else, OK?."  
  
Misao's mouth had dropped open and was now almost hanging to the ground in her state of shock. "Wha... What did you say? Did you sa.. say I was pretty?"  
  
"Good Lord! Is THAT all you heard me say?" Kenshin looked into the now glassy blue-green crytals of Misao's eyes and swore in frustration. "No wonder you don't have a boyfriend, Machimaki... Yes. I did say you were pretty, but don't let it go to your head, Girly. You aren't my type." As a dark blush rose to stain her pale cheeks, and she clamped her mouth shut in obvious embarrassment, he favored her with a wan indulgent smile that had her going weak in the knees. Then with a sideways tilt of his head, and a wicked gleam in his eyes Kenshin continued in a mocking voice. "But, I am sure you are someones, Makimachi, so you really should be more careful about watching your back... especially when it gets dark out. Just a word of advice... take it or leave it."  
  
"Ummm, Thanks," She looked away feeling the stinging heat of the blush burning her cheeks and was thankful for the darkness. "I'll try and remember that." 'I am the stupidest girl in the whole school...'  
  
"Good. Oh, by the way," He leaned over closer to her so that his mouth was almost right next to her ear. "I do know a few things about looking out for your friends and not wanting them to get hurt, and I think the Kitsune is lucky to have you on her side. God only knows what you would do if somebody actually pissed you off. I'd hate to be the one who did it... I don't think I would be hanging around to find out what happened afterwards either. That I would not." A soft husky laugh wafted across the cool skin of her cheek, and Misao shivered at the sensation it and his proximity were causing inside her stomach.  
  
"That is funny, Himura. I never would have pegged you for a chicken." Her voice was a little shakey, but Misao managed to pull off the jibe without too much trouble.  
  
"Me?" He leaned back and placed both hands on his chest in mock self consideration. "Me a chicken?" Another deep laugh escaped him as he dropped his hands and shook his head in amusement. "It's not the fear of seeing you pissed off at me that would drive me away, Girly."  
  
"NO... Then what would it be?" Misao assumed her best haughty girl pose and regarded him with an icy blue-green stare.  
  
"I would not want to see you humiliate yourself when your pitiful act of seeming fierce retribution against me failed so miserably."  
  
"God, you really are an arrogant asshole, aren't you?" 'But what a gorgeous asshole you are. Get a grip, Misoa. Get a grip!'  
  
"Quite possibly." He mused in her incredulous face. "But you know I'm right. There is absolute nothing you could do to me that could in anyway be construed as viable retribution."  
  
"And why not? You are just as human as the next guy... Aren't you?" Misao inflected just enough doubt into her voice to make the question sound almost honest, but the gleaming humor in her eyes gave her away easily.  
  
"Me? Human? The jury is still out on that one; however, back to the original subject," His violet eyes filled with malicious amusement as he took a step closer to her. "Why could nothing you did to me be considered viable retribution? Because you are simply not smart enough, quick witted enough, or fast enough to keep up with me in any catagory and you know it... but you are welcome to try anytime."  
  
"Why you... you.... your a... you... " Misao was so dumbfounded by his audacity that she found herself completely speechless, and that was a very foriegn feeling to her. She could not remember the last time she had found herself with nothing to say. It just did not ever happen. She always had something to say, especially when it came to a sarcastic or rude retort, but this gorgeous, infuriating, frustrating, arrogant... He had beaten her at her own game.  
  
"Cat got your tongue, Misao?" A smug look of satisfaction curled his well shaped mouth and Misao felt her knee start to tremble. "I do not think I have ever seen you with out something to say before... My, my, my... Did I do that?" He took another step towards her and he was standing right next to her. Her heart began beating a frantic tune inside her chest as he leaned close enough to her for his breath to fan her pale cheek, and when he spoke to her, the words he said both shocked and confused her. For if she had believed him to be a frustrating puzzle of contradictions and questions before, he became even more so after he finished speaking.  
  
"Never give up the fighting spirit in your soul, Misao." He whispered. "Never lose that fierceness that burns deep within your heart and mind. It will help keep you alive in this Godforsaken world for a long, long time. So, never give up the fight, not as long as you live, and you can do more than just survive from one day to the next. You can reach for anything you want... you can even reach for heaven if you want to, and you can have it too if you want it bad enough. You just have to hang on to the fight inside of your soul. Never give it up, Misao, and never, never give in." Then he pressed a very brief feather soft kiss against her cheek and walked away from her to lean up against one of the near by trees. Misao was frozen to the spot where he had left her, and could nothing but stare after his retreating form in total confusion. 'What the Hell?'  
  
Just when she thought she had the stand-offish red-headed Senior figured out, he goes and does something that completely throws her off and she does not have a clue what to think about him now. Unpredictable. Out of character. Wierd.  
  
"Ok, what is the big hold-up? Why aren't we going already?" Ruakii's voice was impatient and tinged with something else that made it sound slightly higher pitched than usual. "It's almost 11:45 already... Let's get going moving."  
  
"Keep your pants on, Saitou." The slow almost monotone voice of Aoshi Shinomori was heard off to everyones left, and then he and Tomoe emerged from the darker shadows where they had obviously been making out. "It is not like we are on any sort of a time schedule or anything. So calm down. We are still waiting for the two new kids to show. Hey, Sagara?" He called softly in Sano's direction. "What are their names anyway?"  
  
Sano looked totally confused as he turned in response to Aoshi's voice, and he just stood there with his mouth hanging open not making a sound. He had so much of his attention fixated on Megumi that he had all but forgotten about everyone else and the whole reason they were there.  
  
"Uuuuu..."  
  
"Their names are Kaoru and Yahiko." Strangely it was Kenshin who supplied the information.  
  
"Oh yeah, I did not know you knew them, Himura." Aoshi raised a thin black eyebrow in Kenshin's direction as the two met eyes across the darkened space.  
  
"I don't."  
  
"But, you just..."  
  
"I know their names, Shinomori. I never said I knew THEM."  
  
"Ahhh, I get it now, sorry. All right, well we are still waiting for them to show, aren't we?"  
  
"Yes. I am sure they will be here. Sano said the brother is quite a bragger about school."  
  
"Oh really? About what?"  
  
"Most everything it would appear, but most recently about not being afraid of anything." Kenshin shared a sardonic smile with Aoshi as they considered the stupidity of the 13 year old mind. "SO, I am fairly certain they WILL be here."  
  
"Most definitely. We will wait." Aoshi shot a meaningful glance at the smoldering Ruakii as he drapped an arm around the ever quiet Tomoe's shoulders.  
  
"Great. Just great. God must hate me." Ruakii muttered under his breath as he rolled his eyes in irritation. "How in the hell did I get stuck with the worlds biggest jack-ass and it's two biggest asshole phylosophers all in the same night?"  
  
"Like you said, Ruakii. God hates you." Kenshin's voice was full of mocking amusement and Aoshi could be heard chuckling softely in appreciation.  
  
"Fuck-you, Himura." Ruakii growled in response as he glared in Kenshin's direction.  
  
"Sorry, Ruakii, but your not my type. I like girls." Sano burst into howling raucous guffaws that had to be smothered behind his and Megumi's hands before they threatened to expose everyone to Security.  
  
"It's going to be a long night..." Megumi mumbled under her breath as Misao came to stand next to her. She was quickly followed by Quii, who seemed to be wearing a permanent look of scathing disapproval meant just for her brother.  
  
"He's such a prick."  
  
"Quii!" Misao chided her fiercely. "He's your brother. Your supposed to stand-up for him."  
  
"Oh please. Give me a break. If he was your brother, would you?"  
  
"Ummm, well... Ok, so you've got a point, but you need to watch your language anyway. You should not say shit like that. It's not lady-like."  
  
"Coming from you, that's a REAL piece of advice, Misao."  
  
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"I wonder?" Quii rolled her eyes and Megumi tried to hide a giggle behind the back of her hand.  
  
"Megumi?" Misao squealed in protest. "Not you too."  
  
"Sorry, but she's right, Misao. You know how much you swear."  
  
"Awwww, shut-up both of ya." She folded her arms across her chest and proceeded to scowl darkly into the shadows.  
  
"By the way, Misao... What were you and Himura so 'involved' in over there anyway? I have never seen the red-headed mummer talk to anybody for THAT long? What were you guys talking about anyway?" Megumi tried to get her friends attention by waving her hand in front her her angry face, but Misao just ignored her and mumbled something about watching your back after it got dark.  
  
"What? What are you talking about? Misao??" But Megumi was not going to get anymore information out of the angry girl because at that precise moment she was interrupted by the over exuberant voice of and over excited 13 year old.  
  
"Hey! Are we late? We aren't too late are we? My sister is a real drag, you know. I can't get her anywhere on time, so if we are late, it's all her fault."  
  
"Yahiko!" Kaoru smacked him sharply in the back of the head sending him stumbling two or three steps which he tried to make look like he done on purpose. Then he shot a brief angry look over his shoulder and hissed at his blushing sister.  
  
"Cool it, sis. Geez, can't you take a joke?"  
  
"No." She hissed back into his irritated brown eyes. "And if you do it again, I'll put poison ivy in your under shorts drawer." His eyes grew round with disbelief until he got a good look at the fury on her face.   
  
"Ok, ok... chill. Damn."  
  
"Don't swear." She smacked him again.  
  
"Kaoru!"  
  
"Shut-up! You are embarrassing me... again." Kaoru sighed heavily and wished for the millionth time that Yahiko had been born a girl instead of a boy. Sisters were so much easier to deal with than little brothers who were really monsters in disguise. It was a poor disguise.  
  
"Well, well, well, its about time the two of you got here. We were getting ready to go without you." It did not matter the situation or circumstance, Ruakii could never pass up the opportunity to be a jerk, and this was the perfect opportunity.  
  
"You were?" Yahiko's face reflected his extreme worry and fear of just that thing, and he turned on his sister in a 13 year-olds righteous outrage. "See, what did I tell you?? I told you we were late. I told you, but did you listen? Nooo, you have to be all Miss High and Mighty and say it was no big deal... WE ALMOST GOT LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE OF YOU!"  
  
"Yahiko, I swear..." Before Kaoru could finish her clenched jaw threat, a firm hand descended onto her brothers tense shoulder and squeezed just hard enough to make him wince really good.  
  
"Hey, bud," The voice was smooth and low, but the tone of threat was still more than apparent. "How about you give your sister a break and quit being such a disrespectful little pain in the ass? I am sure she would appreciate it, and I know I WOULD. So, what do you say? Do you think you can find a tone of voice inside your little asshole brain that sounds just a little bit less like your trying to tell her 'to go to hell'?"   
  
"I... I uhhh... well..." Yahiko was stuttering and his face was a mask of terror as he tried to find something intelligent to say to his unseen oppressor, but he just could not seem to find a single thing to say.  
  
"Just nod or shake your head... it's up to you which you decide on. It's all the same to me... pretty much, except one is going to get the shit beat out of you, and the other one isn't. So you pick, what's it going to be... nod or shake?"  
  
Yahiko started to furiously nod his head up and down, and found himself immediately released from that painful grip and dropping to the ground. He had not realized his feet had even been above the ground until they touched it again. He coughed nervously and reached up to rub the stinging ache in the curve of his shoulder, and then turned around to face the source of that threatening voice.  
  
The sound of him sucking in a deep shocked breath could be heard by everyone in the group as he looked into the snapping amber eyes of the scariest kid in the whole school. Kenshin Himura. Yahiko's heart began beating wildly inside his thin chest as he realized he was lucky to be alive if everything he had heard about this guy was true, and from the looks of him, it must be. He swallowed hard and took a step back inadvertantly bumping into his sister.  
  
"I... uhhh, I'll t-try to d-do better." He stuttered in a small voice as he stared through fearful eyes at the taller red-haired boy. "I p-promise, ok? S-so please, d-don't k-kill me. M-mr. Himura. O-ok?"  
  
One of Kenshin's dark eyebrows lifted sardonically as he watched the rude mouthed little brat who was looking at him like he was the incarnation of the devil or something, and he felt most of his anger dwindle away. Sure, he had wanted to throttle the kid when he heard how he was talking to his sister, but maybe a good old fashioned scare was just as good. Kenshin was not even sure why he had gotten himself involved in the family squabble in the first place. It was not any of his business, and he had never done anything like this before. But as he had stood there listening to the little prick talking shit to his sister like that, it had just really pissed him off, and the next thing he knew he had the kid in a vice-grip telling he better shape up or else. So, what the hell, he may as well follow through with this thing, who knew, maybe it would work out to his benefit in the end anyway.  
  
"All right, Kid. But you better start respecting your sister from now on, or else you and me are going to finish this... Got me?"  
  
"Y-yes sir."  
  
"You are sure about that?" He leaned over far enough to look the younger boy directly in the eyes, and glared fiercly into his pale face.  
  
"Yes s-sir, I s-swear it." He was shaking he was so scared, so Kenshin figured he had learned his lesson for now and he let up on him.  
  
"All right, but don't you ever let me hear you talk to her like that again. Ok?" Yahiko was nodding frantically and mumbling 'Yes sir' all the while. "Good, because you have a very special and pretty sister, and it is your responsibility to protect her... not give her shit and attitude. Ok? Especially since your parents are gone now. You are like the Man of YOUR family, and your old enough to start acting like one." 'Shit! Where did all of THAT come from? What am I saying? Get a grip Himura.'  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Ok. Shake," Kenshin offered his hand to the boy and waited. The boy just stood for a long moment staring at the hand as if he had never seen one before, and then he looked up into Kenshin's face in confusion. 'Come on, stupid, it's just a hand.'  
  
"What do ya wanna shake for?"  
  
"Because we are friends now, aren't we? We made a guy's agreement of honor didn't we?" 'It's time to grow up a little... maybe for both of us... so come on, take my hand, kid.'   
  
"I-I guess so."  
  
"All right then, where I come from, that means we are friends now, so I am offering you my hand, Yahiko. Would you like to be my friend?" 'Shit, I can't believe I am really doing this. I must be going insane. What in the hell am I going to do with a 13 year old hanging on my ass?'  
  
"Wow..." Yahiko slowly reached out and tentatively grasped Kenshin's outstretched hand. In return, Kenshin closed his larger one around it and gave it a firm squeeze and a gentlemanly shake.  
  
"There, now it is official. We are friends. Do you know what that means?" 'I'm not sure I know what it means. What in the bloody hell am I doing?'  
  
"I... no."  
  
"It means you can trust me and I can trust you... It means we never lie to each other, or take advantage of each other, or keep important things from each other. And it means we try and keep each other out of trouble too. So it sort of makes us like brothers... If that is alright with you?" 'OH MY GOD!!! DID I JUST SAY THAT?? PLEASE TELL ME I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!! PLEASE, SOMEBODY TELL ME... HOLY SHIT! I'VE LOST MY FUCKING MIND!'  
  
"Yeah? You'd do that for me? Be my friend? Somebody like you?"  
  
Kenshin smiled and nodded his head. "Sure, kid. When I was your age, I wish I would have had somebody like me offer to be my friend. I could have used one." 'Well... I guess that is true enough... Maybe I would not be in this fucking mess if somebody like me had come along and pulled me under his wing... Ahh Fuck it.' Then he reached out and mussed up the boys thick black hair playfully and said. "Come on, Brat. I hear you aren't afraid of anything. I guess we will see about that, won't we?"  
  
"You mean you are coming with us??" Yahiko's voice was sharp with astonishment.  
  
"Well, duh?? What else am I doing here, duffus, if I'm not going with you guys? Hanging around waiting for the night owls to shit on my shoes? I don't think so. Come on..." And he gave Yahiko a half of a shove towards Sano, Megumi, Misao, and Quii. "Let's get moving before Ruakii either loses his never or has a major siezure."  
  
"Fuck you Himura."  
  
"I told you, Ruakii... You are just not my type, Man, and I really do prefer girls."  
  
"Yeah, well you sure wouldn't know it. I don't think I have ever seen you with a single girl the whole time you have been at this school. So that does lead one to wonder... Are you really into girls, Himura, or are you still hiding in the closet?" Ruakii burst into ugly laughter at his own jibing inuendo directed towards Kenshin's sexual preferences, but the cold red-head was nonplused by the insult.  
  
"No closet secrets here, my crass and disgusting friend. The only reason you have never seen me with a girl on Campus is because..." And Kenshin paused for several long seconds making certain he had everyone's attention before he continued. "Is because, I have never found the right girl." With that startling statement, he turned a halfway shy look in Kaoru's direction and then walked over by the stream. "Hey Sano," He called softly. "Where is that damned footpath you said was supposed to be over here?"  
  
"Hang on," Sano looked down into Megumi's bright blue eyes and then reached out and took her hand into his. "Let's all go together so nobody get's lost or left behind, Ok?"  
  
"By all means," Aoshi slipped Tomoe's hand into his and pulled her over next to Sano and Megumi. "We do not want to lose anyone. Who is going to be responsible for the youngster?"  
  
"Hey! I am NOT a youngster!" Yahiko protested angrily but found himself completely ignored by the older kids as his 'partnership' was discussed over his head.  
  
"I will." Kenshin's voice floated back to the group from where he was standing beside the stream.  
  
"But he is MY little brother," Kaoru protested. "He's supposed to be my responsibility."  
  
"Fine," Kenshin's voice floated back again. "Then you can both come with me... If you want too."  
  
Kaoru stepped away from the group far enough to look at the faint sillouette of the red-headed Senior's back, and wondered if it was such a good idea to be in such close proximities to him for such a long period of time. It had not taken long for her to hear all of the stories about him, and she found them very disturbing, but he had taken Yahiko on as a 'friend', and he had been able to get the little urchin to behave. Maybe...  
  
"All right," She called back in a soft voice. "I guess it's Ok if we both go with you... that is if you are sure it's really all right with you?"  
  
"I am sure."  
  
"Ok." Kaoru swallowed hard and pulled the front of her pale pink jacked a little closer around her as a shiver ran up her spine. "Come on, Yahiko." She said as she reached out and grabbed a handfull of his brown coat and pulled him after her. "It looks like we are going with your new friend..." 'God help us.'  
  
"Cool... This is really going to be fun." Yahiko bounded out of her reach and ran up next to Kenshin. "I promise I won't give you any trouble Mr. Himura. I swear I won't."  
  
"All right, Kid. You better not." Kenshin looked back over his shoulder and noticed the pensive look on Kaoru's pretty face, and he felt the muscles in his stomach tighten up in apprehension. "Hey, it'll be Ok." He said to her as he tried to smile. "I promise I don't bite."  
  
"That is reassuring." She returned his weak smile with a weak one of her own, and then found herself looking down at the water flowing closely to her feet. "Have... have you ever been out to the Lighthouse before?" She asked nervously.  
  
"No." His answer was short and sharper than he intended.  
  
"Never?" She sounded surprised. "I thought you had been in school here for a long time?" Kaoru looked at the silouette of his profile in the dark.  
  
"I have, but I have never had the inclination to go out there."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I do not really know. I suppose it just never crossed my mind."  
  
"Oh." She looked back down at the water and listened to everyone gathering in behind them as they prepared to leave. "Do you think it's really haunted? The Lighthouse I mean? Do you believe it's haunted like everyone says?"  
  
"I don't know. I guess anything is possible."  
  
"Do you believe in ghosts?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"What do you mean? People usually either believe in ghosts or they don't... Why do you say you don't know?"  
  
Kenshin shrugged nonchalantly. "I have just never really thought about anything like that before."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"It has never been something that interested me."  
  
"Then why are you going?"  
  
He paused and drew in a deep breath. That was a very interesting question. Why was he going? Did he really even know? Kenshin pondered the thought for several moments before he turned and looked into the dark shape he knew was Kaoru's face. "You know, I really don't know why I am going. I could get myself into a lot of trouble by sneaking off Campus... I could even be jeopordizing my chance to graduate... so, come to think of it, I really do not have a single good reason for going."  
  
"Then why go?" She wondered what kind of trouble he was talking about.  
  
"I don't know." He shrugged again. "Why not?"  
  
"Are you always this... strange?"  
  
"Yes. I guess I am." Kenshin turned away and looked off into space wondering what her definition of 'strange' was. "Do I make you nervous... Kaoru?" He asked, taking the unasked for liberty of calling her by her first name. "Is that why you are asking me all these off the wall questions?"  
  
"Yes." She looked away and felt a huge knot of tension tie itself up inside of her stomach making her feel queasy.  
  
"Well... at least you are honest." After that, Kenshin became totally closed off to her. She could feel it just as tangibly as if he had slammed a door in her face, and for some reason she could not immediately identify, Kaoru felt very sad about that. Very sad indeed.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Thank's for dropping by. Please Review.  
  
ttfn  
  
Tsuki-san. :) 


	4. The White Beaches of Evermore

A/N: Some of you had a difficulty with Kenshin opening up to Sano so easily. Well, if you reread the chapter carefully and really concentrate on exactly what Kenshin is FEELING and THINKING at the time, you will see that it was not 'easy' at all, but something that just 'happened' because circumstance presented the opportunity. Attacking Sano so abruptly and viciously upset him greatly and it brought many feelings and issues to the surface that he had never dealt with. It was simply a point of convergence in his life where it became impossible for him to keep it all to himself any longer, and he had just shown his 'full' inner-self to Sano, so he really did not have anything left to hide. It was try and trust or run and hide, and he was tired of hiding. I hope this helps explain a little bit better why things happened the way they did. Tsuki-san :)  
  
A/N: This is for all of you out there who are having one problem or another with the pairing of Aoshi and Tomoe. I know it was a really strange thing to do, but it was a necessary evil that I had to do in order for certain other things in the story to work. Especially for this coming chapter. So, be patient... everything will come out in the wash. Except tomatoe stains. Those suckers never come out. Dammit! Tsuki-san :)  
  
Chapter Four  
  
The White Beaches of Evermore  
  
"Hey Sano, this trail of yours really sucks. I thought you said it was going to be easy to follow." Ruakii had been doing nothing but complaining ever since the group had left the familiar sanctuary of the schools dark Campus.  
  
"Well, it is... during the day." Sano's voice sounded perturbed and just edgy enough that he might be getting close to losing his temper with the the obnoxious malcontent. Megumi looked over her shoulder and tried to motion for Ruakii to be quiet, but he could not really see her that well in the dark so he just kept on talking.  
  
"Oh, oh well, now doesn't that just make loads of sense. Doesn't that make loads of sense to you guys?" He asked to the group in general as the wolfish sarcasm floated up from the back through the single file procession. "But I guess to somebody like YOU, it WOULD make a lot of sense that a trail you can see during the day would be just as visible in the black of night. Geez, Sagara... I knew you were an idiot, but I did not know you were a fucking imbecile." Ruakii's voice turned to a scathing sneer as he continued to bait the already fuming Sano.  
  
"All right, that is it!" The tenious hold Sano had on his boiling temper finally broke beneath the weight of the other youths rudness. "I have had enough of you and your smart mouthed remarks, Saitou." Sano stopped abruptly and turned around with a snarl, and then shoving his way past Megumi, Tomoe, and Aoshi he stormed toward the singular person that was being a royal pain in HIS ass. "If you got something to say, Ruakii," He glowered into the other boys face angrily. "Then say it to my face... if you got the guts."  
  
"I would like to, Sagara." He gritted out through clenched teeth. "But I can't SEE your face, stupid. It's too fucking dark."  
  
"Oh... yeah..." Sano was tired of feeling foolish around this boy, and his level of self-control was reaching it's limit. "Well, maybe you can SEE this, jerk-wad." And the loud crack of a clenched fist striking a solid jawbone was distinctly heard, then it was immediately followed by the unmistakable sound of a rather heavy body dropping to the ground quite abruptly.  
  
"That is ENOUGH! Stop IT!" Was that Tomoe? "What on Earth is the matter with you two? Can't you get along for even a couple of hours? Good grief! Your acting worse than my little brothers for pete's sake."  
  
"Dammit! What did you do that for, Sagara? Can't you take a little ragging?" Ruakii growled as he struggled to get back to his feet, but slipped on the slick grass and fell to his knees in a rather undignifed manner. "Shit! Well don't everybody just stand there... Somebody come and help me up. This fucking grass is so wet I can't get my footing. Dammit!"  
  
"Here," The dark outline of a hand was shoved in front of his face. "Take it... Looks like I'm the only one willing to give you a hand." Reluctantly Ruakii accepted it and pulled himself to his feet.  
  
"Thanks." He muttered ungraciously and he brushed at his duster.  
  
"Sure. Not a problem." Kenshin turned and walked back to his place behind Quii and Kaoru, and lighting a cigarette, proceeded to shove his other hand deep into the pocket of his jacket. He had been solemnly quiet ever since leaving the Campus, and the air of coldness about him had all but tripled as well.   
  
Kaoru cast a quick guilty look in his direction and then turned around to listen to Sano and Ruakii arguing somemore. She was feeling very sorry for the things she had said to the red-haired boy. His reaction was not what she had expected at all. From all the accounts of his past she had heard, she thought he would have turned on her in a violent anger or at least some form of sneering sarcasm, but he had not done either of those things. In fact, he had ceased to speak to her at all, and that was weighing heavy on her mind and her heart. He had tried to be so nice to her and her brother and she had basically insulted him in return. Kaoru was not sure what to do, but thought she should try to do something.  
  
"Now that's what's gonna keep happening to you, Saitou if you don't keep your stupid mouth shut. You got it?" Sano's voice was still filled with anger, but he did sound much calmer than he had before he had punched Ruakii. Kaoru decided that was a good thing. It really would not due to have the two of them breaking out into a full-fledged fist fight right here. For one thing, there was not enough room, and for another, she just did not feel up to the drama. There had been quite enough of that in her life in the last year to last her three lifetimes and then some. She did not need something this foolish to add to her worries.  
  
"Yeah, well you got lucky Sagara, that is all. Next time you won't be so lucky. Mark my words. You won't ever catch me with another sucker punch like that again."  
  
"Yeah, whatever. Just shut your mouth, Saitou, and keep it shut, Ok? I don't have the time or the patience to deal with your bullshit right now."  
  
"Ewwwww, I'm sooo scared."  
  
"You ought to be, you stupid asshole." Sano was starting to get angry again as the growl of challenge entered his voice.  
  
"Oh, for heaven's sake, will you two stop this, and let's just get going, all right? We've hung out here listening to this crap long enough." Tomoe's irritated voice drifted into the argument again as both teen's hackles began to rise.  
  
"Shut-the-hell-up, Tomoe." Sano was in no mood for her right now, and the underlying threat in his voice sent gooseflesh running up her arms causing her to take a wary step backwards. "Mind your own business, Girl. This doesn't have anything to do with you, so back off."  
  
"Hey, don't talk to her like that, you uneducated ass." Ruakii shoved Sano in the right shoulder. "It is not polite to talk to girls that way. Why don't you get your sorry ass back up to the front of the line where you belong, pin-head, and let's get moving again like she said. All right?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever... you just get off by back and stay off."  
  
"Oh sure. Whatever you say." Ruakii's voice was still full of sarcasm, but at least he was starting to cooperate. Who would have ever guessed that it would be his jumping up in defense of Tomoe Yukishiro that would bring about the transformation. And Tomoe, on the other hand, was fuming that it had been Ruakii Saitou that had defended her instead of her own boyfriend. Aoshi Shinomori.  
  
"What is the matter with you, Aoshi?" She hissed under her breath so no one else would hear. "Why did you just stand there and let that stupid moron talk to me like that?"  
  
"You were sticking your nose in where it did not belong, Tomoe. I felt Sanosuke was justified." Was Aoshi's flat morose answer as he looked into the dark shadow of her furious face.  
  
"JUSTIFIED?" Her whisper of outraged fury fanned his cheek with the moist warmth of her breath. "How can you say that to me? I thought you were supposed to stand up for me? Back me up, and that sort of thing?"  
  
"I am, Sweetheart, but not when you are in the wrong. And you WERE in the wrong. You had no business getting in the middle of that conversation. Just as Sano-san said, it had nothing to do with you."  
  
"I know THAT, but somebody had to do something to get those two to grow-up and chill out before they really started to beat the daylights out of each other." Tomoe was doing her best to reason with the absolute logic of Aoshi's black and white brain. Sometimes she really hated him for the way he thought. There was no room for ifs, ands, or buts in Aoshi's world. It either Was, or it Was Not. There was nothing in between. Ever.  
  
"Perhaps Tomoe-dear, and perhaps not. You do not know if that was where their altercation-interaction was leading them, and thusly, you may have destroyed an opportunity for the two of them to work out an existing socialization problem between them. But we will never know now what could have happened because you interfered where you did not belong."  
  
"Ewwwwwww!" She hissed angrily and swung away from him. "You are completely impossible to talk to, Aoshi Shinomori."  
  
"Perhaps. But you are completely out of your mind, Tomoe Yukishiro, if you think I am going to side with you on this matter... or forgive you for it."  
  
"FORGIVE ME?? I do not have anything to apologize to YOU for!" The tenor of her venomous whisper rose alarmingly high and it threatened to ease itself into a raging sneer of outrage as her anger grew.  
  
"But I think you do." Aoshi remained maddeningly calm, as he always did. Tomoe was certain the boy had no emotions in his heart at all... even if he was an exceptional kisser.  
  
"Oh really? And just what would that be?" She demanded fiercely.  
  
"Starting this rediculous argument in the first place. It was completely unnecessary on your part, as is your accusation against me of not standing up for you stepping into an argument that did not concern you."  
  
"Unnecessary? You think your failing to stand up for me and my being upset over that deems this conversation as unnecessary??"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How can you say that?" Bewildered shock colored her question as she stared at him in confusion.  
  
"Because, as I said before, Tomoe. You were in the wrong."  
  
"Aoshi?" Tomoe spoke his name very carefully and as calmly as she could.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do me a favor, Dearest?" Her voice was dripping with honey.  
  
"And what would that be, Tomoe?" His voice was bland as usual. Unsuspecting.  
  
"Go to hell." And Tomoe walked away from him leaving Aoshi wondering just exactly what that meant. After he pondered it for a few minutes, he decided that it was quite possible that Tomoe had just broken up with him. 'Hmmmmm,' He thought. 'Interesting. I wonder why I do not feel worse?' It was an intriguing and unexpected non-sensation that sent Aoshi to examining his feelings or lack there of for Tomoe. He did not even notice that she was walking towards the back of the line.  
  
Tomoe felt the bitter sting of tears burning her eyes as she trudged along the narrow pathway behind Megumi. Why could Aoshi never understand how she felt about anything? Why was he so damned cold hearted all of the time? She knew she was tired of their relationship; she had been for a long time now, and Tomoe knew it was time for a change. So, silently she stepped to the side of the path and waited for a few people to go by until she recognized the unmistakeable form of Ruakii Saitou. Falling in behind him, she drew in a deep breath to steady her nerves, and then she shyly spoke to him.  
  
"Ruakii..." She began tentatively, "I wanted to say Thank-you for standing up for me like you did back there. I really appreciate it."  
  
Ruakii was more than a little surprised by the quiet dark-haired girls comment, and found himself feeling a little unsettled by her presance as well. He had always thought Tomoe was pretty, but her quietness and long-standing attachment had made her unobtainable so he had never given her a second thought. "Ahhh, sure thing, Tomoe." He shrugged inside his black duster and looked over his shoulder at her dark form trudging behind him. "I did not like the way the Rooster-head was talking to you... It just bothered me, you know. My dad always says guys aren't supposed to treat girls that way. He's always talking about respect and being a gentleman and stuff. Sagara was being an ass to you... it was not right."  
  
"Well, what ever reason made you do it, I just wanted to say thanks. It was more than Aoshi has ever done for me." Her voice dropped on a sad note, and Ruakii felt a strange tugging on his heart. He could not see why anyone would not want to stand up for their girlfriend. It was just something you were supposed to do.  
  
"Really?" His voice was uncustomarily soft, and Tomoe's head jerked up in surprise as she stared at the back of him. "And why is that, Tomoe? Why hasn't Aoshi ever done anything like that for you before? I thought you two were together."  
  
It was her turn to shrug. "I don't know why. He's just very nonconfrontational about things, and he believes that everything can be solved with words, not fists. But most of the time he does not even try to deal with anything with words. Not unless it has something to do with him directly. He does not like to get involved with anyone elses problems."  
  
"Wow! I did not know that about Shinomori. You sure could not tell it by the way he throws the guys around in Karate class. You would think he hated everybody."  
  
"That is different. He looks at Karate as a form of discipline. He says it helps him with his concentration and self-control."  
  
"Is there ANYTHING that ever comes out of that guys mouth that doesn't sound like old man gray-haired phylosophy?" Ruakii's voice was fairly serious, but it was tinged with a hint of sarcastic cyinicism that was unmistakable, and it got to Tomoe and started her thinking about Aoshi, the Extremist.  
  
"Ummmm.... Now that you mention it, no. I don't think so." Tomoe started to giggle as her soon to be ex-boyfriend suddenly looked different to her in the new light Ruakii had just shown him in. "I guess he really does sound like an old Doli Lama or something. I had never thought of it before. It's actually kind of funny."  
  
"Are you kidding me. It is VERY funny. How do you stand that guy anyway? He would drive me nuts if I spent as much time with him as you do."  
  
"Well, if you want to know the truth, he does drive me nuts a lot of the time." It was a reluctant admission, but a truthful one.  
  
"Then what do you stay with him for?"  
  
"I... I don't really know. I have wanted to leave for a while, but... I just never seemed to be able to find a good enough reason to go."  
  
Ruakii pulled up enough to let Tomoe catch up to him, and so he could see the outline of her face a little better. "Well, maybe that is something you should think about, Tomoe Yukishiro. Why you are staying with a guy who makes you miserable... He is not the only crab on the beach, you know."  
  
Tomoe burst into giggles again as she looked over into Ruakii's grinning face. "You say some of the dumbest things, do you know that."  
  
"Yeah, but it makes YOU laugh."  
  
"Yes... it does." She smiled and met his eyes for a moment then looked away in embarrassment. 'God, I never noticed how cute he was before.' Then to her consternation, Tomoe felt Ruakii's hand glide down her arm and slide into hers gripping it loosely giving her the chance to pull away if she wanted to. A warm tingle of wary excitement traveled up her arm and settled in her stomach where it curled into a little ball of nervous knots.   
  
In the two years they had been going out together, she had never once felt this way with Aoshi. Tomoe bit her bottem lip in apprehension and wondered what she should do. It felt so good having Ruakii hold her hand in his. It was so warm and she felt alive all of a sudden, but was it a bad thing to be doing this just this soon? She was not even actually broken up with Aoshi... was she?  
  
Tomoe decided she did not care. It felt good, and it felt right. She let her fingers wrap themselves around Ruakii's hand and felt him squeeze back. Looking back up into his face, she found him smiling gently at her and her heart did a wild flip-flop in her chest. Nope. Aoshi had NEVER made her feel like THIS, and she liked THIS. Aoshi Shinomori could roast in Hell for all Eternity for all she cared. She knew where she was going, and it was not back to him.  
  
It was not very long after the argument between Ruakii and Sano that the group finally found their way out of the dangling tree branches and heavy grasses and broke out onto the flat far reaching beach of Evermore-sound. Lit only by the scant starlight, it stetched out before them like the pale gray ghost of a long forgotten road winding around the edges of the black lapping water and disappeared in the dark shadows of the night. They were still too faraway to see any sign of the old Lighthouse, but the rolling lap of the waves slapping up against the pale sand was a monotonous on going rhythm that would follow them to their destination and help keep them on the right track.  
  
"Finally." Megumi breathed a sigh of relief which was whole heartedly echoed by each one of the others as they broke free of the suffocating trail and took a deep breath of the cool fresh salt air coming off the ocean. "I thought we would never get here."  
  
"It is about time, Sagara. You might have warned us the path was so tight, you know." Ruakii still could not just keep his mouth shut, and to make matters worse, Tomoe was standing beside him nodding her head in complete agreement. That was when everyone noticed they were holding hands, and the night grew still with an eerie silence of apprehension. Aoshi was wearing a pinched look on his usually blank face, and Tomoe felt a shiver of anxiety run up her spine. She unconsciously moved closer to Ruakii and he squeezed her hand tighter as if to tell her not to worry.  
  
"Ahem, Tomoe... Is there something you wish to say to me?" Aoshi clasped his hands negligently behind his back as he approached the couple with a deadly glint in his dark eyes. He did not mind her breaking up with him so much as he minded that she had gone immediately from his embrace to that of the most mean spirited jerk in the entire school. THAT bothered him.  
  
"I already told you, Aoshi, Dearest. Or have you forgotten already that I very specifically told you to 'go to hell'?" Tomoe straightened her shoulders and tried to sound as confident as she could.  
  
"No, I quite remember those sweet words falling from your lovely lips, My Dear, but I do not recall your mentioning anything about leaving me for... HIM."  
  
"It is your own fault, Shinomori." Ruakii spoke in a triumphant voice as he moved closer to Tomoe. "If you do not know how to take care of beautiful things, you lose them. And, obviously, you do not know how."  
  
"I don't do I? So that is what is behind this?" A rare chuckle escaped his lips as one hand rose to rub the smooth edge of his jaw thoughtfully. "I think I understand now. Very well then, you are welcome to her, Ruakii, and I wish you well. I just hope you know what you are getting yourself into."  
  
"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Tomoe snapped angrily in Aoshi's direction as he turned to walk away.  
  
"Just what I said, My Dear. But then again, since it appears Ruakii is just as foolish a person as you are, perhaps the two of you will get along quite famously. I wish you well... and good riddance."  
  
"Go to hell, Aoshi" She spat venomously.  
  
"Very likely, but I will be sure to save you a seat, Darling." And with another cold chuckle, Aoshi meandered away from his now ex-girlfriend and started making his way up the pale sandy beach.  
  
"Wow! Intense." Misao exhanged anxious looks with Quii and Kaoru as the three girls cautiously moved a little closer to Kenshin and Yahiko.  
  
"That was really creepy." Quii was shaking her head as she looked with increasing confusion in her brothers general direction. "I didn't think he liked Tomoe. Usually he refers to her as the 'Mouse-Girl' because she never makes any noise."  
  
"Weeellll, she made some noise tonight. That in itself was way strange. I wonder what was up with that? Tomoe usually always fades into the background where nobody ever notices her. I wonder what got her going tonight that she jumped in the middle of Sano and Ruakii?"  
  
"Who knows, but it looks like my big brother has a new girlfriend... YUCK!"  
  
"Quii! That is not very nice. Tomoe is a nice girl. At least I think she is a nice girl. I don't really know her very well myself." Misao found her eyes wandering away from Tomoe and Ruakii and searching out the lone figure walking ever so slowly up the beach. 'I wonder what is up with HIM?' "Hey, Himura?" She called softly over her shoulder.  
  
"What do you want, Machimaki?" Was the stiff sullen answer.  
  
She jerked around and stared at him. He looked like a pale gray-haired ghost in the minimal light, but she could still make out his features and it was obvious he was ticked off over something. Plus, he was smoking another cigarette. She could not help the look of concern that crossed her face as she walked over to him. It suddenly felt strange to see him like this after the way he had been with her just a little while ago. Of course, this was the Kenshin Himura she was the most familiar with, the one that wandered silently around the hallways of Ive Payne, but she liked the other one much better.  
  
"Are you Ok, Himura?" She asked gently and rested a soft hand on his arm.  
  
"Sure. I'm great. Why do you ask?" He pulled a drag off his cigarette and then blew the smoke out in a tight thin stream. His eyes were hard when he finally looked at her.  
  
"Yeah, I can see how 'great' you are. Fine," She shrugged. "If you don't want to talk to me, that is Ok, but I just want you to know... I'll listen if you want to." 'Oh my God... Did I really just say THAT to HIM??'  
  
He looked at her long and hard for at least twenty seconds and then simply nodded once before taking another drag off his dwindling smoke. "What did you want before? You were going to ask me something. What was it?" The voice was slightly less sharp, but he was not anymore open than he had been before. Misao frowned and pulled her hand back.  
  
"I was just going to ask you if you knew anything about that Shinomori guy. He just seems really intense, and... well, kind of closed up and way too anal about everything. Do you know him?" Kenshin chuckled a small ironic sound that make Misao look at him quizzically. "What?" She asked trying to get him to look her in the face. "What did I say that is so funny?"  
  
"You called him 'anal', Misao. And, whether you know it or not, that describes Shinomori perfectly." Another round of deep chuckles slid from his throat as he dropped his cigarette butt onto the pale sand and stubbed it out with his foot. "He is obsessed with logic, cause and effect, choice and consequence... His life is black and white and there is no room in it for any gray-matter."  
  
"You are kidding me... aren't you?"   
  
"Nope. He is a very interesting piece of work. Give him a single topic to research, and he will bring you back a library's worth of information... in his head. The man is a walking, talking, breathing genius."  
  
"You like him... don't you?"  
  
"I respect him. We speak the same language a lot of the time only he gets a little extreme for me sometimes."  
  
"Too extreme for YOU??" She raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him.  
  
"Hey, it happens." He retorted sourly as he glared down at her sarcastic expression.  
  
"Sorry, Himura. It's just really hard for me to believe anyone being too extreme for YOU. I mean, get real will you. Some one is too extreme for The King of The Extremists?"  
  
"Careful, Weasel-girl, your treading on thin ice here."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... go growl someplace else, tough guy. You don't scare me anymore."  
  
"Shit!"  
  
"You know anything else about this guy? Like is the son of an alien-mutant or anything like that?"  
  
"No. He is not the son of an 'alien-mutant." The ghost of a half smile tugged at the coners of Kenshin's mouth as he took a measured look at her. "Why the sudden interest, Machimaki?"  
  
Misao shrugged and looked up the beach to the place where Aoshi had stopped about one hundred yards ahead of the group. He seemed to be staring off into the darkness that loomed over the water. It was difficult to tell what he was doing, but he was not moving. "It was just really bazaar the way he an Tomoe broke up. He was almost totally nonemotional about the whole thing, yet the exchange between the two of them was very intense. It was wierd."  
  
"I suppose. But that is how he is."  
  
"Do you know why?"  
  
"Nope. I doubt anybody does. Except maybe Aoshi, himself, but he probably would not bother to explain the reasons for his behavior."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"The reasons are basically irrelivant to his behavior whether they are the direct cause of it or not. Cause and effect, Misao. His behavior is the result of whatever effected him in his past, so it no longer matters. It cannot be changed, it can no longer be effected, it has caused whatever changes in his life and character it is going too, so it requires no further exertion on his part. He would consider it a waste of time."  
  
"Wierd." She shook her head and screwed her pretty face up into a thoughtful scowl. "It really would be hard to figure out what makes a guy like that tic then wouldn't it?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know... Most guys are pretty easy to figure out once you know the one thing they need the most."  
  
"Well, that is a no-brainer, Himura. Like... Duh."  
  
"A no-brainer, huh? What do you think it is? Sex?"   
  
"Of course. That is pretty much the only thing you guys think about, isn't it? The Almighty Panty Game? The Thrill of The Hunt? My Way or The Highway?"  
  
"Is that what you really think??" His voice sounded angry and Misao turned a surprised face to him. To her personal sense of dismay, she discovered his face looked just as angry as his voice sounded.  
  
"Well, actually... that is what most all girls think you guys want the most."  
  
"That is your first mistake, Weasel-girl. I did not say 'want', I said 'need'. If you can figure out what HE NEEDS, what HE WANTS becomes a secondary consideration."  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that you guys would for-go the sex-thing is we were to find out your one true NEED and fulfill it FIRST?"  
  
"Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. At least, that is truth for the majority of the male population. There are the odd few who don't give a shit about anything one way or the other except self-gratification. Those are the one's you have to watch out for."  
  
"Geez, Himura. You just ruined my whole view on the male-asshole."  
  
"I did? How did I do that, Misao?" He looked at her quizzically as she favored him with a wicked smile and twinkling eyes.  
  
"You just went and made them all look almost human... whadya do that for? I was quite comfortable with my current perspective the way it was." A soft almost inaudible chuckled slid out of Kenshin's mouth as he jammed both hands into the pockets of his jacket.  
  
"So sorry, Misao. Truly I am."  
  
"Yeah, you are." She let a quiet giggle loose and playfully shoved him. "Not." Then she sobered somewhat and searched out his semi amused features in the pale starlight. "Hey, Himura?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can I say something to you without you tearing my head off?"  
  
"I do not know. I guess that depends on what you say to me."  
  
"Fine, whatever... Geez, you are a prickly jerk, you know that?"  
  
"Everybodies got to have a hobby."  
  
"Yeah, well, you would think this was your lifes pursuit." He smiled a little wider and kicked a spray of the loose sand onto her feet.  
  
"Hey! Cool it, you big dork. All I was going to say was, once you get past all the smart-ass, big-balls attitude, you are actually a really great guy... and... and, I want you to know I really meant what I said about being there if you ever needed somebody to talk to." She looked down at his shoes and felt the burn of a dark blush glowing in her cheeks. "I think everybody should have at least one person they can talk to about stuff that's bothering them. Somebody that won't dump a bunch of judgement bull in their lap or start giving them lots of advice. Just somebody to talk to when they need to unload. You know what I mean?"  
  
"Yes," He nodded almost imperceptively. "I know what you mean."  
  
"Well, I just wanted you to know that I will listen to you... if you ever need to talk... you can trust me, you know. You really can."   
  
"Trust you?" He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.  
  
"That's right. Me."  
  
"Hmmmm. Interesting thought, but tell me, why should I trust YOU? What makes you better than anyone else?" His eyes narrowed skeptically and Misao could see that all sense of sarcasm had suddenly been dropped. 'Geez, he changes moods fast... He's a damn roller coaster.'  
  
"Because, I have never betrayed a friend in my entire life."  
  
"Never?"  
  
"Never." She set her jaw and folded her arms across her chest in defiance. "You can ask anybody. I am one of the most loyal people you will ever find anywhere, Himura. I don't kiss and tell."  
  
"I should hope not." His usual sarcasm finally pulled its ugly head out and grinned widely at her, and a small lopsided grin tugged at Kenshin's mouth. "I am not very good at trusting people, Misao. I have made it a habit not too... but, maybe... I..." He stopped and dropped his head to stare at his shoes for a long moment. "I have sort of gotten tired of being alone all of the time." She had to struggle to hear what he said, but once she realized the magnitude of the admission, Misao felt a squeezing pain in her chest.   
  
"Himura... I didn't..." He stopped her from going any further by putting a hand on her arm and shaking his head.  
  
"It is Ok... Do not worry about it, please. All I can do is try, you know... Sano and I... we, well, we sort of came to an understanding earlier today... so, I am trying... It is difficult. So difficult." A ragged sigh escaped him, and Misao felt him tremble slightly. "It has been a long, long time since I allowed myself to have any friends..."  
  
"It is Ok, Himura. I am not looking for anything catastrophic, Ok. I just want you to know that I am here if you need somebody to talk to, or just hang out with. That is all I am saying... I don't think you are what 'we' thought you were... are you?" She searched the shadowed features and found them pinched into a look of sadness.  
  
"No." Was all he said, and then he looked up and met her eyes. She saw everything she needed to know there, and nodded gently.  
  
"Didn't think so." She gently squeezed his hand where it rested on her arm and he smiled a little weakly. "Come on... grab the kid and let's get going."  
  
"Ok. I think I am definately up for an adrenaline rush about now."  
  
"Need one?" She smiled wickedly, and he grinned evilly at her.  
  
"Yes, feel like helping me out?"  
  
"Nope, you said I wasn't your type, remember?"  
  
"I could always make an exception." He winked at her and she laughed out loud bringing a genuine roll of laughter from him as well.  
  
"Cool." She nodded in approval as she started to walk away. "He does know how to laugh after all."  
  
  
  
"Misao! Are you insane??" Quii's anxious whisper was accompanied by her frantic grip on the sleeve of Misao's dark green coat. "Kenshin Himura is dangerous. What are you doing going right up to HIM and talking to him like that? Everybody knows he's unstable... You don't know what he's capable of... He might had tried to hurt you or something."  
  
"That is a bunch of crap, Quii, and I think you know that." Misao yanked her sleeve loose from the younger girls grip. "Himura's not going to hurt me or anybody else for that matter... except maybe your stupid brother. Otherwise, he's pretty much harmless. So, get a grip, Quii. Kenshin Himura is no one to be afraid of, Ok?"  
  
"Are you really serious about that, Misao? That he's not dangerous?" Kaoru's quiet voice interrupted the fierce exchange between the other two girls.  
  
"Yes, I am serious. He wouldn't hurt anybody."  
  
"How do you know that?" Kaoru's face creased into a line of worry. "I mean, everything everyone has said about him at school has been..."  
  
"I think it's all crap, Kaoru." Misao hastily cut her off. "I really don't think he's what everybody thinks he is."  
  
"But how do you know that?"  
  
"I don't know... I just do, Ok? It's one of those gut feelings, and I just gotta believe it. Besides, if he was such a scarey person, would he have done all that stuff for your little brother? Huh?"  
  
Kaoru cast her eyes down in confusion because she had been asking herself the very same question ever since Kenshin had stopped talking to her. Initially, when she had first noticed him being in so many of her classes, she had thought he was the most handsome boy she had ever seen, but her admiration was short lived once she started hearing the stories about him.   
  
He was supposed to have killed some old man in up-state New York three years back while he was trying to rob his store. The general consensus of the rumors were he had done it intentionally during a struggle of the old man's gun, but he had gotten out of a major murder charge because he had only been 14 at the time. There was also a rumor that the only reason he was here at Ive Payne was because his parents were really rich and had somehow bribed the system into confining him here on the Campus instead of putting him in Juvie Lockdown.  
  
The thought that a cold-blooded killer was roaming the hallways unfettered had made her flesh crawl and the blood freeze in her veins. It seemed that Yahiko and herself were doomed to keep running into bad luck no matter what she tried to do to make things better for them. It was her responsibility to look out for Yahiko, to take care of him, and to make sure that he grew up into a descent human being, but sometimes Kaoru just wanted to give up and quit. It was so much harder than she could have ever imagined; trying to grow up without parents.  
  
She could clearly remember all of the times she and her Mother had argued and thrown cruel words back and forth at each other, but what she would not give now to be able to wrap her arms around her Mother's waist and lay her head on that soft but sturdy shoulder and let all of her cares and worries slip away. Or if she could hear the boombing laughter of her Father ringing through their house as he came home from work and found Yahiko hanging from the bannister on the stairs, Kaoru would give anything for that too. Two years. Two years they had been gone, and it seemed to her that the pain and emptiness just kept getting bigger and harder to bear instead of easier like everyone told her it would.  
  
What did they know? Had they lost their parents when they were 15? Did they feel responsible for the fact that their parents were dead? Did they feel like it was all their fault that the two most important people in the world were dead because of something that they had done? No. None of them knew or understood anything, and none of them ever would because no one knew what had happened. It was her fault her parents were gone. It was because of her that her Mother's embrace was lost and her Father's laughter was silent, and Kaoru lived with that knowledge everyday. And everyday saw her become more and more withdrawn, more isolated, and more self-depreciating. But she had to maintain for Yahiko. She had to keep going for him. Whether he realized it or not, he depended on her for a lot of things, and she did on him as well. True, he was a complete pain most of the time, but Kaoru knew she would not be able to go on if anything ever happened to him, and she had watched him warm up to the most unlikely person imaginable. Kenshin Himura. Kaoru did not know what to think. Yahiko was usually an uncannily good judge of character, and if that still held true then... Maybe Misao was right.  
  
"Maybe you are right, Misao. I just do not know if I can feel the same way about him that you do, right now."  
  
"You don't have to, Kaoru. All I'm saying is give him a chance, you know. Do not sell him up the river just because of everything you've heard. I think there is a lot more to him than anybody knows, and I think he deserves a chance to prove it... even if that isn't what his intentions are. Just give him a chance, Ok?"  
  
"Sure. I can do that, I guess." She smiled weakly and turned her wary gaze back to the aloof red-haired boy who was now engaged in an animated conversation with her younger brother. "After all, Yahiko likes him." The last was spoken so softly, it almost sounded as if she said it to herself, and Misao and Quii looked at each other in mild confusion.  
  
"Hey, Kaoru? You ok girl?" Misao reached out and touched the dark-haired girls arm. It was true, no one knew hardly anything about these new kids, but Misao always seemed to be the one that wanted to reach out to everyone, and Kaoru was no exception.  
  
"Yes," Kaoru quickly looked back and Misao's concerned face and managed a shaky grin. "I'm fine. It's just hard for us to get used to new people."  
  
"Oh," Misao smiled warmly and winked. "I can relate to that, but don't worry about it, Ok? You got me and Quii here to keep you company, and we'll introduce you to everybody else, and then in no time at all, you'll have a ton of friends. Trust me." Impulsively she reached out and hugged the other girl tightly, and then squeezed her hand in friendly affection. "We won't let you fade into the wood-work. You can count on that. So, come on... Let's get going before we get left behind. It looks like everybody is starting to move out. Hey, Himura!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Come on... unless you want to get left behind with the little wild-animal all by yourself. Everybody is leaving."  
  
"All right. We're coming." Kaoru turned around in time to see Kenshin lean over and say something to Yahiko that make the younger boy break out into raucous laughter, and then the two of them were jogging up along the pale sand to catch up with the rest of the group. "All right, we're here already, so why aren't we moving yet?"  
  
"God, you are a sarcastic jerk, Himura."  
  
He grinned evilly. "Someone has to be. Might as well be me."  
  
"Sure, God knows you are better at it than anyone else."  
  
"Thanks Misao." He smiled proudly and bowed in mock appreciation.  
  
"Not a problem." She giggled and gave him a shove that sent him sprawling into the sand. "I guess grace isn't one of your better virtures, is it?"  
  
"No. But I hope running is one of yours."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because, when I stand up... I am going to pick you up and throw you in the ocean." His voice was deadly calm and Misao felt a prickle of apprehension tingle along her nerve endings.  
  
"You wouldn't dare..."  
  
"Wouldn't I? Are you sure?" The implied threat was very evident in his voice as he slowly began to rise to his feet. "Can you absolutely count on that, little Weasel-girl?"  
  
"Ummmm... I... Himura? You are kidding... right?" Misao began to back up in a slow defensive move as her eyes widened into huge dark pools of anxiety. "You aren't serious are you? That water is freezing? Himura??"  
  
"I don't know... What do YOU think?" He was half crouched almost like he was getting ready for a sprint, and Misao suddenly remembered just exactly how fast he really was. He had taken All State the last three years in a row in the 100yard and 220yard runs.   
  
"Oh shit..."  
  
"You better run, Misao." Quii hissed in a tight whisper. "I don't think he's bluffing." And at that split instant Kenshin sprang from his crouch and darted with alarming speed in Misao's direction.  
  
"EEEEEEPPPP!!" She squeeled in terror and frantically dashed up the edge of the beachline passing everyone in a blur. "IIII'MMMMM SSSOOOORRRRYYYY!!" She cried as she heard the steady sure footed pad of him swiftly gaining on her headlong flight, and as she cast a terrified look over her shoulder to see how close he was, Misao plowed right into a solid wall of pure stone. It seemed to hold up beneath the weight of her assault for a moment, but then it crumpled and she fell crashing to the ground caught in a tangle of arms, legs, and a very long trench coat.  
  
"OOOOOFFFF!" The distinct sound of male discomfort brought Misao to her senses faster than any amount of cold water could have, and she began to struggle wildly to get free and discover what had happened.  
  
"STOP!" The brusquely spoken word caused her to immediately freeze where she was to the point she was even holding her breath. But then, a gentle hand was carefully wiping her hair out of her flushed face, and Misoa found herself looking into the surpised and very handsome face of none other than Mr. Extremist himself. Aoshi Shinomori. To her eternal embarrassment she realized she was laying on top of him in a very compromising position with her legs straddling his waist, and her small but firm breasts almost pressed right in his face. Slowly he sat up and she slid down his torso and settled in his lap with her knees bent on either side of his thighs. 'Oh My God!!! HELP!!!!' Her mind was screaming over and over in embarrassed distress as she watched him brush his own hair out of his eyes and then pop his neck, and then he was looking directly into her wide-eyed horrified face.  
  
"Are you all right?" He asked in his usual bland voice, but Misao could see the shift of concern in his dark colorless eyes as they looked into hers. 'I don't think I can breath.' She thought as her gaze locked and held with his. 'I have to say something... but what... Oh shit! I can't think of anything to say... What am I going to say? Say something Misao. You have to say something.'   
  
"I... I think... so." She stuttered and mentally swore at herself because she sounded so stupid.  
  
"Are you certain? You hit me rather hard, and we did fall in quite an awkward position." One of his hands reached out and slid under her hair and began to probe her neck. Misao felt incredible little electrical shocks of pure pleasure shoot through her as he touched her. 'WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? OH GOD!' "Does this hurt?" He asked quietly in the same bland voice he always used.  
  
"H-hurt?" Her eyes were closed and she was almost leaning into his hand. "No. It doesn't hurt."  
  
"Good." Then his hand slipped along her spine probing each vertebrae for pain and placement, and as he did, Misao drew in a shakey breath and let her head drop forward where it fell onto the broadness of his shoulder. "Does this hurt anywhere at all? I have to make certain you did not hurt your back, so you must tell me if it hurts anywhere at all. Do you understand?"  
  
"Um-hmm..." Relaxing against him, Misao became achingly aware of several things all at once. The simplest touch of his hands was sending her off into another world, she was almost certain she could detect the slightest tinge of something in his voice besides it's usual flatness, he smelled absolutely incredible, she had never met him before this moment, and... and she wanted him to try and kiss her so she could let him do it.  
  
Kenshin stood several feet away with a crooked smile on his face, and a evil gleam in his eyes. His little plan had worked out better than he had thought it would. Misao was perfectly perdictable, and she had fallen for the bait of his bow just like he had thought she would, and her wild run up the beach had taken her in the exact direction he had wanted her to go.   
  
Right up to Aoshi Shinomori. His smile got bigger as he watched her lean into Aoshi letting him check her for 'injuries', and he turned and meandered lazily back down the beach to where Kaoru, Quii, and a wide mouthed Yahiko were walking. Whether Aoshi knew it or not, Kenshin believed quite certainly that the tall serious minded 'Extremist' had finally met his 'Match', and he was in for the ride of his life.   
  
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Quii looked at him in astonishment.  
  
"What makes you say that?" He asked as a delicate brown brow arched up in sarcastic bewilderment.  
  
"For one thing, the look on your face, and for another... Misao just got through telling us you wouldn't ever hurt anybody. So, that means you would never have thrown her in the water... doesn't it?" Now she looked a little bit wary and backed a couple of steps away from him ending up behind an embarrassed Kaoru.  
  
"I don't know, Quii Saitou. Does it?" He laughed a wicked sound that was heavily laced with insolent amusement, but Kaoru was, at that moment, watching him very closely, and she saw something that caught her eye and made the breath freeze in her chest. Beneath the sarcasm and the insolence there was something else. Something fleeting and elusive, but she knew she had seen it. What it was had left her wanting to reach out and grab his arm before he walked away and started tormenting her brother the way boys do with each other, but he had moved too quickly for her and the opportunity was gone.  
  
  
  
It was nearly 12:30 when everyone finally got moving along the waters edge of the pale beach, and heaven knew it had been an interesting hour. More things had changed in that endless 60 minutes than in most of these teens lives in the last three years.  
  
Tomoe Yuishiro and Aoshi Shinomori broke up.  
  
Ruakii Saitou proved he was a gentleman underneath the surface of his ever presant rudeness and self-righteous attitude, and now Tomoe was HIS new girlfriend.  
  
Misao Machimaki and the ever aloof Kenshin Himura had become tentative friends, and Kenshin had somehow taken the loud mouthed obnoxious Yahiko Kamiya under his wing.  
  
Sanosuke Sagara and Megumi Takani seemed to be working towards a new relationship, much to their mutual enjoyment.  
  
Aoshi Shinomori and Misao Miachmaki were... well, nobody was sure what was going on there, but ever since she had plowed him over in her mad dash to escape Kenshin's threat of throwing her in the water, they had sort of been staying close to each other. And lastly, Kaoru Kamiya had made a very interesting and valuable discovery.  
  
Kenshin Himura, Ive Payne's 'Bad Kid' had something no one would ever believe he had... not even if she told them what she had seen in his eyes in that one split instant. However, she finally understood why Misao was so adamant about everyone giving him a chance. It was written just as plainly in his eyes as the stars shining in the midnight sky.  
  
Kenshin Himura had a heart, and it was hurting. 


	5. The 'Somber Man's' Lighthouse

A/N: The world as the 'Group' knows it is about to change.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
The Somber Man's Lighthouse  
  
Walking along the beach was much easier than traversing the narrow suffocating path had been, and the group made much better progress than before. They covered the two and a half mile distance in just a little over an hour, and as they rounded a sharp bend in the shoreline where it came up against the rising bluff, the dark silouette of the old abandoned Lighthouse loomed before them. They had finally reached their destination. Hackler's point stretched out from the bluff for about 700 yards or more and then it dropped off sharply ending at the waters edge. The lighthouse itself was situated on a small island made entirely of gray and black granite.  
  
The island rose straight into the air for at least 150ft or more, and it was completely surrounded by jagged unscalable cliffs of razor sharp stones. On one side there was a long switch-back of wooden stairways that laced up the treacherous stone from base to top, and this was the only way up to the lighthouse for many years until the mid 1800's when an old iron and wood bridge that had been built from the bluff out to the island.   
  
The Lighthouse had been built in the early 1800's by the fisherfolk who had made their lives from fishing these waters, and at that time, the great Lamp was lit with a huge oil cauldran surrounded by the huge reflective angled mirrors and glass. But then, during the late 1800's the oil was replaced by the electric light, and the power of the Lamp was increased by a hundred times.   
  
The lighthouse had been built as far out onto the water as they could get it so that its beacon could be seen as far away as possible, and it was a well known historical fact in Evermore, that the lighthouse had saved many a fisherman and Navy man from peril with its great white lamp. There were stories that had been told and retold of how the massive lamp was said to have been able to pierce through even the thickest fog and shine through the worst storms and bring the men home safely. There had hardly been a ship or a man lost while the lighthouse was in operation. Because of its lonely location so faraway from town, and so far off shore, the lighthouse had been named 'Somber Man'. This was partly due to the fact that any man who was hired to tend the massive Lamp, was usually left alone for weeks on end. His only contact with the outside world were his monthly supply deliveries, and the occassional ship that dropped anchor. It was a terribly lonely job and dispite its obvious importance it was a difficult possition to keep filled.   
  
Of course, it did not help matteres at all that the first man to ever operate the Lamp was rumored to have murdered his young mistress while in residence at 'Somber Man'. There had never been any actual proof provided against him because no body was ever found, but everyone had believed with a certainty that he had thrown her off the catwalk surrounding the Lamp. Only six months after the girl disappeared, the man had been found dead inside the Lamp itself. He was clutching an empty bottle of whiskey in one hand, a recently fired revolver in the other, and his bloody brains were splattered all over the new glass and floor. One of the expensive panes had been completely shattered by the bullet, but strangely enough, the bullet was never found.  
  
It was generally believed that he had killed himself because he could no longer live with what he had done to the girl and so no investigation was ever established into his death. It had never occured to anyone how difficult it would be for a man to shoot himself in the exact middle of his own forhead using a revolver with a 10 inch barrel and being sloppy-assed drunk at the same time. They also never bothered to notice that the wound in his forhead was at least three times bigger than the one in the back of his head. Many, many things had been over looked for the sake of a simple open-and-shut case, but there were those who would not let what happened be forgotten so simply.  
  
For over two hundred years, nearly every person who tried to man the post at 'Somber Man' had left for the exact same reason.   
  
They swore it was haunted. There were a dozen and fifty-one different stories if there were two, but one had always stood out among all of the others.  
  
The sounds of a furious argument could be heard in the very late hours of the night. The distinct voices of a man and woman were easily distinguishable amid the noises of a struggle and breaking glass. Then the unmistakeable sounds of running feet making a wild dash up the circular stairwell inside the tower coupled with ominous echoes of ragged frightened breathing were heard as someone desperately tried to find a place to hide or perhaps escape. But this mad flight was soon followed by a second pair of much heavier feet whose steps rang thunderously through the cavernous lighthouse until it seemed the stones themselves vibrated with their fury as they followed the first pair. What happened next would invariably send the occupant or occupants of 'Somber Man' screaming from the lighthouse, and then packing back to Evermore to hand in their resignation.  
  
A frightened scream cut short, the sounds of a fierce scuffling, and then the door to the catwalk would slam open with such a force that the mirror panes in the Lamp would rattle. The squeaking and moaning of the wrought iron railing that surrounded the Lamp, a shout of rage, a strangled scream of terror... And then...  
  
"No... Please, don't... please." A woman's pleading voice.  
  
"It is too late for that, you little whore. Too late." The deep timbre of a man's drunken fury.  
  
"No, it.. it's not too late... let me explain, please let me explain... please... wait."  
  
"I am through waiting on you, Cassy. No more waiting... no more... Your whoring days are over, Bitch. It's time you met your maker."  
  
"Please, Daniel... Listen to me... Dan..."  
  
"Go to hell... and take your whore's lies with you."  
  
"DANIEL! NO! WAIT!" The sounds of a short struggle would ensue, and then the night would be split by a blood chilling scream that dropped from the top of the tower and fell the full length of its side only to disappear somewhere out of hearing range. Then the night would become so deathly quiet those among the living could almost hear their own heart beats until the moment those hearts froze to stone within the fullness of a terror before unknown to them.  
  
The shimmering apparition of a tall dark-haired man was walking down the circle-stairs with his head drooping down to his chest. His long black hair fell in an unruly mess over his forhead all but obscuring his face, but it was apparant he was quite good looking. The puffed-sleeve white shirt he wore was torn down the front revealing a chest that had been deeply scratched and gouged by what could have only been the woman's fingernails. As he rounded the last turn of the staircase, he stopped on the steps and reaching out a shaky hand, he tried to steady himself by placing it up against the cold stone of the tower wall.  
  
"Oh Dear God..." His voice was filled with purest grief. "What have I done? What have I done?" Slowly he sank to the steps until he was sitting, and then leaned into the cold stone covering his face with trembling hands. "Cassy..." He began to cry like a small child. "What have I done to you, My Princess? Oh God... CASSY?!" And then, in the blink of an eye, the man who was called 'Daniel', would disappear.  
  
"It looks creepy." Yahiko's voice was low and a little trepidacious dispite all of his recent bravado and claims of fearlessness.  
  
"It's supposed to look creepy, stupid." Quii playfully shoved him to one side as she grinned into his pinched face. "It's haunted, remember?"  
  
"I remember." He bit back in a tight voice. "And don't call me stupid. I don't like it."  
  
"Your sister calls you 'stupid' all the time, so what is the big deal?"  
  
"Th-that's different. She's my sister. You aren't even really my friend yet, so you don't have the right to call me anything. Ok?"  
  
"Ok, fine... calm down. Sheesh, you don't have to get all tweaked out of joint you know. I didn't mean anything by it." Quii looked away feeling slightly embarrassed. "I was just fooling around with you anyway."  
  
"Ok... but just don't call me 'stupid' any more, all right?"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"What's going on over here?" Ruakii suddenly appeared at Quii's side with his face a mask of brotherly concern. "Is this little jerk giving you trouble Quii? I'll kick his ass if he so much as..."  
  
"He didn't do anything, Ruakii, so chill out, Ok." Quii shoved her brother away from her and glared at him angrily as her level of embarrassment increased. "We were just talking about how creepy the lighthouse looks, that's all."  
  
"You sure? Cause from where I was standing it looked like he was talking shit to you."  
  
"Well, you are way off this time. He didn't say anything bad to me, so why don't you go crawl back in your hole and leave us alone, Ok?"  
  
"Fine, whatever, but HE better behave while he's around you or ELSE." With one last glare in Yahiko's direction, Ruakii turned and walked back over to Tomoe and left the two younger kids alone again.  
  
"Sorry about that. My brother can be a real dog sometimes."  
  
"It's cool. At least he's looking out for you."  
  
"Yeah... I guess. I just wish sometimes he'd look out for me somewhere else, you know. It's like I can't even breath without him looking down my throat."  
  
"He's just keeping his responsibilities up to you, you know. He's your big brother, he's supposed to take care of you especially since you are a girl. It's just something brothers are supposed to do."  
  
"Do you watch out for your sister?"  
  
"I try, but..." His voice trailed off into silence and Yahiko stared out at the lighthouse with blank eyes.  
  
"But what? What's the matter?"  
  
"She won't let me do anything for her. At least not since our parents died. It's like she thinks she has to be the one whose responsible for everything and everybody. She treats me like I'm six years old or something. Sometimes, it really makes me crazy."  
  
"I didn't know your parents were dead." Quii looked at the younger boy in sincere sympathy. "I'm really sorry, Yahiko. How did they die?"  
  
"Our house burned down two years ago. They were trapped inside and never got out. The police said the fire was caused by a faulty gasline leaking gas into the internal furnace duct system. Once the gas reached the pilot light..." Yahiko paused and drew a ragged breath. "I remember my dad throwing me out of my bedroom window just before the furnace blew up."  
  
"Oh my God..."  
  
"The fire raced through the ducts like crazy... it was everywhere all at once. It was shooting out of the vents and catching everything on fire in everyroom in the house. The whole house was on fire in just a couple of seconds... there was no way for them to get out."  
  
"You... You watched..."  
  
"I watched my house burn down with my parents inside."  
  
"Where was your sister? Where was Kaoru?"  
  
"Sleeping over at a friends house. The police had to go and get her to tell her what happened. I can still see her... She was totally hysterical screaming and screaming and screaming. I have never seen Kaoru like that. She was always so happy and fun to be around. She hardly ever got mad or upset over anything. But, now everything is different."  
  
"What do you mean, different?"  
  
"She hardly ever smiles. She never laughs, and she cries a lot at night when she thinks I can't hear her. I know she misses Mom and Dad, but I miss them too. How come she took it so hard? Why isn't she getting better? It has been two years ago, and she seems to be getting sadder instead of better. I want to help her, but she won't let me do anything any more. She won't even talk to me about what happened any more. I just wish I understood why she has ended up the way she has. I really wish I did." His dark eyes instinctively moved until they found the slender form of his older sister. "But she won't tell me anything any more."  
  
"I'm really sorry, Yahiko. I really am." Quii put a gentle hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "I promise I won't ever call you 'stupid' again, Ok? I promise."  
  
"Thanks." He dropped his head and then looked up at her and smiled. "Will you hang with me tonight when we go 'in there'?"  
  
"Sure. Come on. Let's go see what everybody is doing, Ok?"  
  
"Cool, works for me." He turned to follow her lead, but then reached out and grabbed her by the arm. "Quii?"  
  
"What?" She stopped and looked back at him.  
  
"Thanks for listening... you know."  
  
"Sure, kid. Not a problem." And with that, the two of them continued on until they joined the rest of the main group.  
  
"All right, is everybody ready to go?" Sano was looking over the group and counting heads making sure that everyone had made it to the Point and that no one had gotten left behind.  
  
"Of course, we are ready to go, Sagara. We have been ready to go for over an hour, you big dork. So why don't you quite all the jabber-jawing and just get going already."  
  
"I have had enough of your shit, Saitou." Sano hissed in a dangerous voice. "If you want to try and make the walk over the bridge and stuff by yourself... be my fucking guest, otherwise, shut your mouth and let me do my job."  
  
"YOUR JOB?" Ruakii burst out into rude snide laughter as he eyed the taller more slender Sanosuke. "Since when did leading this little expedition become your 'Job'? I don't remember us holding any kind of a vote and declaring you 'The Grand Pupa'."  
  
"I'm the Leader because it was my idea to come, and because I'm the only one who know's the way, you braying ass. So if you think you can get out to the lighthouse by yourself... go ahead... PLEASE."  
  
Ruakii became quiet for a moment and then tried to save face by meandering nonchalantly past Sano in the general direction of the cliff edge. "Fine," He said amiably. "Show where the bridge is... and I will."  
  
"No." Sano's voice was stiff.  
  
"What do you mean, 'No'?"  
  
"Because, Saitou. Even though you are a royal pain in the ass... and even though I told you to go... I can't let you do it."  
  
"Why not?" Ruakii walked back to Sano and looked at him in frustrated confusion. "What's up your butt now?"  
  
"Nothing, Ruakii, he just does not want to be responsible for you and Tomoe either getting lost or getting hurt." Kenshin suddenly materialized out of the dark and appeared next to Sano's shoulder. His face was a calm mask of cold dislike. "So, why don't you stop thinking about padding your own ego, and start thinking about the possible danger you could be putting yourself and Tomoe in... I assume from what happened earlier that you would be taking her WITH you... Yes?"  
  
"You talk to much, Himura." Ruakii growled in a low embarrassed voice as he took a threatening step towards Kenshin. "One of these days I'm going to shut your mouth for you."  
  
"I look forward to it." Kenshin's voice took on a deadly calm as he met the murderous gleam in Ruakii's eyes. "I hope you give me a better fight than you did during Kata finals... I did not even hardly break a sweat defeating you then."  
  
"Damn you to Hell, Himura." Ruakii's voice dipped even lower to an evil hiss of pure hatred. "I hope somebody breaks your fucking holier-than-thou neck one of these days... and I hope that somebody is me. I want to watch them carry you away in a bodybag."  
  
"You know what they say, Ruakii..." Kenshin's eyes narrowed, and even in the eerie semi-darness, when they changed to a glittering golden-amber, it was unmistakable.  
  
"What?" 'Holy... Did his eyes just change color? I've never seen them do that before.' The hackles on the back of Ruakii's neck raised in defensive response to the uncomfortable feeling that raced across his nerve endings.  
  
"Be careful what you wish for... " The statement was in reference to an old mythical warning about making wishes for the wrong things, but there was an implied threat behind Kenshin's words that had Ruakii's heart thundering to an alarming speed as its meaning hit home to him.  
  
"Don't fuck with me, Himura."  
  
"Then don't make foolish idle threats, Ruakii. Not unless you are prepared to carry them out." Kenshin took one step towards the now alarmed Ruakii. "If you are not prepared to meet the promise of your own words, do not speak them. You are not as good as I am, and we both know that. The only way you could ever beat me is if you cheated or caught me off guard... And that would make you nothing more than a coward." One more step brought him right up to the other boy, and Kenshin sneered into his pail wide-eyed face. "I never thought of you as a coward before, Ruakii. Are you a coward? Would you sucker-punch me from the back just to beat me? Would you?"  
  
Ruakii tried to meet the fierceness of the strange golden gaze for as long as he could, but found to his shame, he could not hold the look for longer than a few short seconds. Dropping his head, he slowly shook it in answer to Kenshin's question. No, he was not a coward.  
  
"Good. I really did not think so. So why don't you stop all this 'Top Cock' bullshit, and just try to get along with people for once in your life. It would make everything a whole lot easier on everybody... including you."  
  
"Yeah, whatever." Ruakii looked away and swallowed hard against the lump of fear that had somehow congealed in his throat when he had looked into those strange eyes. 'How did he do that?' He wondered as he dwelled on the bazaar phenomenon. 'He's never done THAT before that I know of. But I know I saw what I saw, and it scared the shit out of me.' Ruakii looked back and warily watched as Kenshin exchanged a few short words with Sano, and then walked back to his place in the small group he had been walking with all night. A nervous knot suddenly clenched tightly inside his stomach.  
  
Quii had been walking with Himura all night. 'Shit'. Suddenly Ruakii felt very inadequate.  
  
It did not take very long after the altercation between Sano, Ruakii, and Kenshin before Sano was gingerly leading the group along the edge of the bluff. The drop down to ocean had increased from the sandy beach to one of about 50-75 feet, and it was straight down.  
  
"Everybody be careful, Ok. The wind can pick up real unexpected, so stay alert. I don't want anybody get swept or pulled over the edge."  
  
"Great..." Misao muttered as she looked warily over the edge and took in the crashing waves far below. "Just what I always wanted... to go hiking at night in the pitch black, on the edge of a cliff, with the possibility of getting sucked over the side by wind surf."  
  
"Do not worry, Misao." A strong warm hand reached back and took ahold of first her wrist and then wrapped around her slender fingers. "I will look out for you, and I promise that while you are under my watchful eyes, you will not come to harm."  
  
"Ooh..." Misao turned and looked into the handsome but ever serious face of Aoshi Shinomori, and her knees felt like they were going to turn to water. "Thanks... Aoshi, but you don't have to do that." 'WHAT AM I SAYING???"  
  
"I realize that, Misao, but I would be very upset if something happened to you when I know I might have been able to prevent it, so, if you will allow me... please, I would like to be your partner tonight while we go through this... ah, little adventure."  
  
"Ok." 'Is THAT all you have to say??' Misao mentally slapped herself for not saying something grand or sweet or... just something. But it did not seem to matter to Aoshi. He simply nodded and pulled her closer to his side as his hand closed more tightly around hers. Misao was in heaven.  
  
"Wow! This has got to be like the wierdest night in the entire universe." Quii's thin voice was filled with amused bewilderment.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Kaoru moved up next to her and looked at the younger girls smile of uncertainty.  
  
"Everybody is pairing up... and the 'pairs' are not anybody I would have EVER put together. I mean, look at them." She pointed ahead of them at the three couples that were walking slowly along the edge of the bluff holding hands. "There's Sanosuke Sagara and Megumi Takani, My brother and The Mouse-girl, and now there is Misao and that strange Shinomori guy. None of those pairs make any sense at all. They really don't."   
  
"Well, I cannot really agree with you because I do not know any of them very well, but it is very odd how they are all ending up in couples... like you said. Maybe it is something in the stars... you know, cosmic destiny or something." Kaoru looked up into the tiny twinkling lights high in the midnight sky and sighed. That was something her Mother used to say to her all the time.  
  
"You can see your entire life in the stars, Tanuki, if you know where to look. It is all right there... your birth, your life, your death. All of it."  
  
"What about Love, Mum? Is the boy I'm going to Love up there too?"  
  
"Of course he is, sweetling. And your children too."  
  
"Children? You mean babies and stuff?"  
  
"Yes, Baby... I mean YOUR babies and stuff."  
  
"Wow!"  
  
But Kaoru could not see anything up there any more. No matter how hard she tried to find the flowing string of her life links, there just was not anything there. She was all alone.  
  
"That is a romantic thought, Kaoru. Maybe you are right." Quii turned her yellow eyes up to the sky and gazed at the stars with Kaoru. "It is certainly the right night for it."  
  
"That it is." The gentle rolling tenor of Kenshin's voice interrupted the girls star-gazing, and they both jerked around to find him standing right next to him. "Oops, sorry." He smiled apologetically. "Did not mean to startle you. That I did not. Are you two ready to go. It would appear everyone is leaving without you, and Sano says the bridge is not faraway now." He pointed off to his right and Quii and Kaoru saw that he was right. Everyone was indeed moving on without them. "Yahiko and I thought we better come back for you two... It would not due for either one of you to get lost just now. It's getting really cold, and it seems to be getting darker so..."  
  
"Mr. Himura's trying to say that we came back to get you guys before you got scared or tripped out or something." Yahiko bounced up and down with a big grin on his face as Kenshin glared mild daggers at him.  
  
"Thanks brat. I think I was making myself quite clear without your assistance."  
  
"Sure you were... you were just taking waaaaaay too long."  
  
"Fine." Kenshin ruffled the younger boys hair in playful indulgence. "Then you take Quii and get moving, and I will escort your sister, Ok?"  
  
"Ok. Quii and I had already decided we were going to go together anyways... So would have gotten stuck with the 'Tanuki' anyway."  
  
"The 'Tanuki'?" Kenshin looked at Yahiko in confusion.  
  
"Yeah, that's her nick-name. Tanuki, it means..."  
  
"I know what it means. Why do you call her THAT?"  
  
"Yahiko..." Kaoru's voice rose threateningly, but Yahiko ignored her and continued.  
  
"'Cause our Dad always said she looked like a big Racoon first thing in the morning when she woke up with all that mascara-crap under her eyes. You know, the big black eyes." He was laughing as he made big circles around his eyes with his fingers. Kaoru groaned.  
  
"Yes, Ok... I get it. Now get out of here kid. You are really getting on my nerves." Kenshin smiled wickedly at the guffawing 13 year old and shoved him ahead of himself and the obviously embarrassed girl. "You two be careful, all right?"  
  
"Yeah, ok. No sweat Mr. Himura."  
  
"Little demon-spawn." Kenshin mumbled to himself as he wondered what he could say to Kaoru that could possibly make her feel better.  
  
"You have no idea." Her voice was limp with defeat and resignation. "I cannot take him anywhere that he doesn't humiliate me."  
  
"I would not exactly call 'this' humiliation... but he does need to learn to stop making you look foolish in front of other people." Kenshin motioned for Kaoru to come with him, and they started to follow the rest of the group bringing up the rear. "Why does he do that? Do you know?"  
  
"I'm not really sure? I... I think he hates me if you want to know the truth."  
  
"Why would you say that??" Kenshin looked at Kaoru sharply as he asked that surprised question.  
  
"I... I guess because... I'm not Mom and Dad." Her voice was the saddest thing Kenshin had ever heard, and he had to look away so she would not see the effect her words had on him.  
  
"How long have they been gone?" He asked gently.  
  
"Two years in November."  
  
"You mean next month?  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to."  
  
"It's Ok. You were just asking why my brother is such a little jerk to me, and I was trying to answer. It is not a big deal."  
  
"It does not sound like 'its not a big deal', Kaoru. It sounds like 'it's a very big deal', and I feel bad I brought it up. I'm sorry."  
  
"No, really. It's Ok. I am supposed to be getting used to it by now. That they are gone... my parents, you know. I'm supposed to be getting used to their being gone..."  
  
"It does not sound like you are." He cast a worried look at her pale profile, and wondered what was going on in her head.  
  
"You are right... I am not." Kaoru breathed a shaky sigh, and then lifted her head and looked at him. "I need to say something to you, but it is sort of hard for me... but it's important that I say it. Ok?"  
  
"All right. I do not know what you think you need to say, but I am listening... take your time. We have all night." A gentle smile touched his lips and Kaoru felt a shiver of... What? travel up her spine.  
  
"It is about what happened earlier... while we were still on Campus. You know, by the stream?"  
  
"You mean tonight?"  
  
"Yes, tonight."  
  
"All right," He was still not following her, but continued to give her his full attention.  
  
"I was really... I should not have... I said..."  
  
"Hey, Kaoru," Kenshin reached out and tenderly took ahold of her cold hand and squeezed it gently. "It's Ok... calm down. I am NOT going to bite you. Whatever else you might think of me, I am not going to do anything to YOU. I promise you that. You are completely safe with me. I swear it."  
  
Her large round eyes looked searchingly into his earnest face, and Kaoru remembered what she had seen earlier and what she had thought. The look was there again, only this time it was not going away so quickly as it had before. She could see Kenshin's aching heart crying out in pain from the depths of his beautiful eyes, and the sight of it made her want to cry. In a very strange way, he looked like a small lost little boy.  
  
"I am really sorry for what I said about you making me nervous because of all the stuff I have heard about you..." It all came out in one ragged rushed sentance, and once it was out, Kaoru drew a deep breath of relief and dropped her eyes. "I should not have behaved that way... I mean, I did not even know you. I had never met you or anything, and I was judging you by what other people had been telling me about you. I... I'm really sorry. I know I hurt your feelings, and I am really sorry for that. I really am."  
  
They walked along in total silence for several minutes before Kenshin said anything to her about her heart-felt apology. "You do not have to apologize to me, Kaoru. It is not necessary."  
  
"Why not? I did something I am very ashamed of, and I needed to tell you I was sorry."  
  
"I understand what you are saying, but... an apology is not necessary." His voice was calm, quiet, and very flat. Kaoru was totally confused and a little bit angry.  
  
"I don't know what kind of a game you are trying to play with me, Kenshin, but whatever it is, I don't like it."  
  
"I am not playing any game." He bit out through clenched teeth, and felt her stiffen beside him. 'Dammit! Calm down Himura.' He berated himself. "What I am trying to say is... No one ever apologizes to me... I am not really worth it. I don't notice things anymore... Not really anyway, and what you think you did really did not bother me as much as you think it did." 'You have learned to lie so much better than you used to, Himura. One day perhaps you should try acting. You would be damn good at it.' "It is not a big deal, Ok? So, just forget it. I already have." He tried to smile at her but failed miserably and found himself facing forward desperately looking for Sano's back.  
  
"Ok. If that is how you feel about it. But just for the record," Kaoru reached over with her free hand and tugged on his jacket making him look at her. "I think you are worth more than you think you are. And whether you want my apology or not... You got it, and that is just the way it is." Then, as her head dropped slightly and she became quiet, Kenshin felt her hand tighten around his.  
  
"Kaoru?" His voice was low and a little tremulous.  
  
"What?" She answered and looked over at him. He was looking at the ground in front of them as they walked.  
  
"I meant what I said before... about you being safe with me. I would never do anything to hurt you or put you in danger. I would always keep you safe."  
  
"I believe you, Kenshin. I am not sure why, especially since I really do not know anything about you, but I believe you."  
  
"I won't let anything happen to you, Tanuki." He whispered as he met her eyes for a long moment. "I promise."  
  
"Hey, you guys. We made it!" The loud over exuberant voice of Sano Sagara split the peaceful quiet of the night, and broke the moment of connection between Kenshin and Kaoru. "Here is the gate to the bridge. I need somebody to come and help me pull it open."  
  
"Why?" Kenshin asked loudly. "What is wrong with it?"  
  
"Feels like it's rusted shut or something. Can you give me a hand, Buddy?"  
  
"Sure, hang on. I'm on my way." He looked at Kaoru for a quick moment and his eyes told her he would be right back, then he jogged up to the front of the line and joined Sano at the old iron gate. A great creaking and tearing noise could be heard coupled with the grunts and groans of the two boys as they struggled to pry the old gate open.  
  
CRRREEEAAACCCKKKK!!  
  
Suddenly the old rusted iron gave way and the gate opened beneath the pressure of Kenshin and Sano's combined efforts. They yanked on it until it was open far enough for a human form to squeeze through.  
  
"That ought to do it." Sano sounded more than a little triumphant as he smacked Kenshin on the back. "Thanks, Bud."  
  
"Sure, Sano." Kenshin quelled the temptation to smack Sano back knowing that if he did, they would be picking the taller boy up off the ground, and he did not want to make him look too bad in front of Megumi.  
  
"Let's go. Gotta go single file through the gate, but we can go doubles up the bridge." He held his hand out for Megumi who grasped it eagerly and stepped to his side. "But watch yourselves. The bottem of the bridge is made of wooden planks. Some might be rotten, so go slow and feel 'em out before you step on 'em." As he finished speaking, he gently pulled Megumi behind him and entered the gate.  
  
Behind him entered Ruakii and Tomoe closely followed by Aoshi and Misao. Then Yahiko and Quii slipped through. Only Kenshin and Kaoru were left standing on the bluff waiting to go through.  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked her in a quiet odd sounding voice. "We can still go back if you want to."  
  
"No. I have to go. Yahiko is out there, and I cannot leave him here alone." Her large dark eyes rose and looked into his concerned face, and then she watched as he held his hand out to her.  
  
"Ok, then... Let's go before we get completely left behind." He waited patiently while she considered his hand for a long drawn out second or two, and then she reached out and accepted it.   
  
Kaoru shivered with a strange nervousness as she felt Kenshin's warm slender fingers close firmly around her's and then pull her next to him. His face was close to her's and she could almost see the deep violet of his eyes as they caressed her face.   
  
"I promise, nothing will happen to you." He whispered softly as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers for a moment. "I promise you, Kaoru. I will keep you safe."  
  
"I know you will." She whispered back and found herself pressing her head against his in response to his unfamiliar contact. "I trust you, Kenshin."  
  
"Come on." And he pulled her gently behind him as they slipped soundlessly through the old rusted gate and began to slowly walk along the aged bridge. "Walk closer to the outside edge. The wood will be stronger there than in the middle."  
  
"Ok." It took about ten minutes to cross the bridge, and not once in that entire time did Kenshin loosen his grip on Kaoru's hand. He was there to steady her each time her footing faultered, and by the time they reached the otherside, she was more or less permanently attached to his left side.  
  
"Took you guys long enough." Sano complained. "Everything all right?"  
  
"Yes. Everything is fine. I just took my time, Sano. I wanted to make sure WE made it over in one piece."  
  
"WE all made it over in one piece, and NONE of us went as slow as you, Himura." Sano leaned over to Kenshin and gave him a wicked wink. "You sure that was the only reason you were walking so slow?"  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Kaoru moved closer to Kenshin's side as she quipped the tremulous jibe in Sano's direction. As a result, every single person in the group turned and looked at her with gapping mouths and shocked eyes.  
  
"Kaoru?!" Yahiko stared at her in astonishment. "You didn't...?"  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know, you little squid?" She purred at his stunned look, and was satisfied to see him clamp his mouth shut in embarrassment. "Didn't think so."  
  
"You sure you know what you are doing, Tanuki?" Kenshin's voice was low and filled with humor. "You could be playing with dynamite, you know."  
  
"I don't care. I'm tired of everybody getting off at my exspense all of the time. Sometimes I just... " Her whole body stiffened as she struggled to find the words she wanted.  
  
"Get pissed off?" He supplied.  
  
"Yes. Exactly. I don't usually ever say anything, but sometimes..."  
  
"It just happens?"  
  
"Yes. It just happens. Which is not a very good thing."  
  
"Why not? I thought it was stellar." He was laughing and it made her smile.  
  
"Because it usually gets me into a lot of trouble."  
  
"Well, do not worry about that anymore, Tanuki. You have me to protect you now, and I will not let ANYONE get close enough to you to do ANYTHING about it. Got it?" He pulled her hand up under his arm so he could hold it against his chest as he grinned into her face.  
  
"Got it." She leaned into him enough to rest her chin on the edge of his shoulder, and then closed her eyes and soaked up the fact that holding his hand felt really good.  
  
"Pssst, you sleeping?" The teasing sound to his voice brought an excited little tingle to her cheek where his breath fanned her face.  
  
"No." She replied quietly and opened her eyes only to find his face a mere inch away from hers. Kaoru felt the immediate pull of chemical magnetism on her senses as she was captured and held firmly in the intense gaze of his eyes. Dispite her usual conservative-primeness, her breath started to come in short sharp little gasps, and her heart began doing wild flip-flops in her breast. "God, your gorgeous." She whispered without realizing she had even said anything.  
  
"You think so?" He asked in a husky emotion filled voice.  
  
"Uh-huh." She breathed into the open proximity of his parted lips.  
  
"Thanks, but I look like yesterday's garbage compared to you." He dipped his head a fraction more and rubbed his cold nose against hers. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my whole life."  
  
"You think so?" Her voice was thick and he could feel her trembling against him.  
  
"Uh-huh. I think so. You look like an Angel, Kaoru."  
  
"Oh." Her eyes closed again and she moved so she could bury her face against the warmth of his throat, and Kenshin released her hand so he could wrap his arms around her pulling her close to him. It was a brief embrace, but it was full of very important meaning for both of them.  
  
Kaoru found a place where she felt safe again.  
  
Kenshin found something that was more important than his own private pain.  
  
And together, they found a place where they could both start over.  
  
*** This is it until after Christmas gets done and over. Hope everyone has a Great Holiday season.  
  
Tsuki-san.  
  
And, as always, take care and God bless.  
  
Please read and review. 


	6. The Eyes of Daniel March

A/N: I have enlisted the help of a wonderful new friend, Nigihayami Haruko, who has graciously volenteered her services to be my beta reader. This is 'OUR' first combined effort, and if I may say so myself, I think it turned out pretty darn GREAT!   
  
Thank-you Haruko-san.  
  
Tsuki-san :)  
  
Chapter Six  
  
The Eye's Of Daniel March  
  
Saturday, October 28, 2001  
  
'Somber Man' rose majestically upward into the midnight dark sky like a lone castle turret as the 10 teens gingerly approached the boulder strewn base using as much caution as possible. The pale starlight reflected poorly off of the gray granite that comprised the outside of the old tower, leaving the lighthouse looking more imposing than its usual appearance in daylight or full moonlight. It stood alone now, in a ghostly silhouette against the black backdrop of the sky and the even darker ocean water whose waves could be heard crashing against the cliffs far below.   
  
If there had not already been a legend about the lighthouse being haunted, this night would have been the perfect opportunity to start one. Fragile misty shadows drifted across the edges of the bluff like ghostly wraiths shape shifting in and out of form, while the billowing of the winds as they blew up over the cliffs from the ocean sounded more like the moaning of long forgotten souls searching for peace and comfort than what they really were. This was a night made for fear and for wild imagination to run rampant without regard for reality or sanity.  
  
It was almost Halloween, and the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead was growing thinner by the day. During Samhain almost anything was possible; moreover, the hours were growing short. Very short indeed.  
  
"Ok, so who's going in first? Huh?" Sano looked around the group as he issued the challenge and waited for volunteers to speak up. When no one answered right away, he decided to up the ante. "Should we make it more interesting and put a bet on it? Like which ever couple can stay inside longer than 15 minutes gets 10 bucks from each of the other couples?"  
  
"That is quite a bit of money, Sanosuke." Aoshi remarked as his brain added up the amount in a flash. "Forty dollars would go a long way to bolster a few people's courage I would say. What do you guys think...? A forty dollar bet worth it?"  
  
Each couple looked at each other and there were a lot of shrugs around the loose circle followed by a few scattered, 'Ok's, and 'Whatever's, and Sano nodded his head in wicked enjoyment. "Cool, then it is settled. Forty-bucks to whoever lasts the longest. Deal?"  
  
"Deal," Aoshi answer for himself and a wide-eyed Misao.  
  
"Sure," Ruakii sounded as cocky as ever and then he was leaning over to Tomoe and whispering something into her ear that had her smiling and giggling.  
  
"I guess so." Was the edgy tentative answer from the two younger teens, Yahiko and Quii. Neither of them was exactly keen on the idea, but had promised each other they would do the best they could.  
  
"Great idea, Sano... Figures it would be yours." Only Kenshin could be that sarcastic and nasty and still sound half-way civil. Sano had to smile at his friend's nonchalant asshole attitude. Sometimes it was a perfect fit for the situation... and this time it was. A perfect fit.  
  
"All right then, everyone is agreed, forty-bucks to the winning couple. Now, you gents pick a number between one and fifteen."  
  
"What for?" Ruakii sounded like the one monkey at the zoo who missed the banana party.  
  
"So we can decide what order everybody goes in, Stupid. Whaddya think?" Sano snorted in irritation at the other boy's thickness and wished for the thousandth time that night that he had not asked him to come. "So pick a number, nut-brain, and let's go."  
  
"Who's got the Master number? You?"  
  
"No. Megumi's got it."  
  
"Oh... Ok."  
  
"Stupid."  
  
"All right you guys, that's enough... do you have your numbers or not?" Megumi was getting worn out by the constant bickering between Sano and Ruakii, and she made a mental note to never go double dating with him and Tomoe, or go on anymore group activities that involved them either.  
  
Once everyone indicated they had chosen a number between one and fifteen, Megumi started going around the circle.  
  
"Aoshi?"  
  
"Seven."  
  
"Ruakii?"  
  
"Three."  
  
"Yahiko?"  
  
"Twelve."  
  
"Kenshin?"  
  
"Thirteen."  
  
"Sano?"  
  
"Ten."  
  
"Ok, the number was Two. Looks like Ruakii and Tomoe are first, Aoshi and Misao are second, Sano and I are third, Yahiko and Quii are forth, and Kenshin and Kaoru are dead last. Sorry," She smiled a small apologetic smile in Kaoru's direction and then shrugged. "That is just the way it goes. Sorry."  
  
"It's Ok. I don't mind." Kaoru lied. Point in fact, she was terrified and had been ever since they had finally reached the ominous looking tower. There was something wrong here. Something wrong with the tower and with this place. It was all wrong, and she wished she had taken Kenshin up on his offer to go back when he had made it.  
  
Kenshin had been aware of Kaoru's discomfort from the moment they had arrived as well. Her terror was practically a physical being walking beside him, and he was worried about her. He could also feel the 'wrongness' about the tower, and that worried him too.  
  
He knew this was a bad idea.  
  
Since Sano was the only one with a watch that had a light on it, he was chosen to be the Timekeeper, that was until he and Megumi had to take their turn, and then Kenshin would hold the watch.  
  
So, everyone found a reasonably comfortable spot on one of the dozens of stones that peppered the ground, and sat down to wait their turn. Ruakii and Tomoe headed off towards the eerie looking grey tower hand in hand, and Sano started the timer on his watch.  
  
"There they go. Who wants to take bets on that pussy not being able to stay in there longer than 5 minutes?" There was a tone of malicious humor in his deep voice and it was followed by a few soft chuckles, and one loud 'Hauruumph.' Sano looked up and met the darkly shadowed eyes of Ruakii's younger sister and suddenly felt very stupid. "Oops, ahhhh, sorry Quii. I sort of forgot you were over there..." It was a lame excuse, but it was all he had.  
  
"Jerk." She mumbled and favored him with one of her famous soul squirming scowls, and Sano found he was not immune to its affects. He started to fidget uncomfortably beneath the intensity of her glare until he finally snapped at her.  
  
"Enough already... I'm sorry, Ok? Cut it out. You are giving me the heebie-jeebies." Quii smiled sweetly, nodded, and looked away. 'That little... She did that on purpose just so I'd apologize.' Sano was incredulous as he watched the future female manipulator expert start talking to Yahiko as if she had done absolutely nothing.  
  
"How long have they been gone, Sanosuke?" Aoshi leaned across Misao's lap in order to get closer to Sano so he would not have to shout. Misao was practically swooning over the close proximity of his body, his hair, his... everything.  
  
"Almost... seven minutes."  
  
"Just about half-way." He leaned back vaguely noticing how Misao's nose seemed to follow the scent of his aftershave as he went. Casting a sidelong glance at her, he caught the last vestiges of the dreamy look on her pretty face and felt the hint of a smile tugging fiercely at the right corner of his mouth. 'Tomoe never got to me like this before. Tomoe never made me feel like teasing her with my cologne, or tickling her nose with my hair... What is it about this little live-wire that is getting to me?' For the life of him he did not know, but... He was beginning to think he liked it.  
  
A shrill scream of absolute terror filled the night making everyone jump and grab the first thing they could get a hold of - the person next to them.   
  
"What the fu..." Sano rose slowly to his feet, and another scream split the night followed by another and another, and then the sound of running feet reached their ears. It was not long until that sound of feet brought a frantic Ruakii and a terrified Tomoe into view. They were about 75 yards away from the group, and it looked as if they were sprinting the distance despite the uneven ground along the bluff.  
  
"Look at them..." Megumi had grabbed a hold of Sano's arm in fear when the first scream had sounded, and she was now fully plastered to his side.  
  
"They're scared shitless." He whispered. "Damn."  
  
"Ruakii....?" Quii sounded frightened and worried at the same time as she watched her brother running like a wild animal runs for its life. "What...?"  
  
"Aohsi? What...?" Misao instinctively pressed herself against the strength of his hard chest as she watched the terrified pair racing across the stone littered bluff towards them.  
  
"I do not know, Misao. I do not know." He lifted his arm and wrapped it tightly around her holding her against him closely as he felt her body tremble. "Something is not right."  
  
Kenshin had pulled a quaking Kaoru into the protective haven of his arms after the first scream, and then buried her head against his chest after that. Now he stood holding her as tightly against him as he could as they both watched what was happening. "Kenshin?"  
  
"I do not know, Tanuki. Let's wait and find out before we panic, shall we." She nodded and pressed her face against his chest again. Both of her hands had grabbed a handful of his jacket, and she had yet to relinquish either one.  
  
As the frightened pair reached the group, they both literally dropped to their knees panting and wheezing as they fought to catch their breath after their mad flight away from the Lighthouse.'  
  
"What the hell happened to you two?" Sano and Megumi both knelt next to the exhausted couple and tried to help them at least set up. "Are you Ok at least... Ruakii? Dammit! Are you guys Ok??"  
  
"Yes... we're fine... Holy Shit!!!" He was breathing so heavily it was a little difficult to hear him through his gasps for air.  
  
"What happened in there? All we heard was screaming and shit. What happened?"  
  
Suddenly Ruakii flipped over onto his back, and to everyones astonishment, he began to laugh, as much as he could in between trying to breath, and then, in only a moment, Tomoe was falling onto his chest in a fit of gasping giggles.   
  
"What the..." Sano was completely baffled.  
  
"Their laughing... I can't believe it." Misao looked down at the pair with shocked eyes. "They just got the shit scared out of themselves, and they're laughing like idiots. Will somebody kill them for me please?"  
  
Kenshin turned and smiled at an equally shocked Kaoru, and as she looked back into his amused face, they both shook their heads and walked over to the wheezing, laughing couple. "You mind explaining what is so damned funny? We would all appreciate knowing what scared you two so bad that you came running back like a couple of rabbits, but still had the guts to lay down and laugh about it. So, spit it out. What was it?"  
  
"Tomoe..." Ruakii tried to talk but he was laughing so hard he could not finish, and besides, Tomoe squealed and started to swat him.  
  
"Don't you dare tell, don't you dare. I swear to heck, Ruakii, if you tell..."  
  
"Oh come on, Honey..."  
  
"Noooo..."  
  
"But it was so cute..."  
  
"Ruakii..."  
  
"What did you do you dog?" Now Sano was grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"It wasn't much, just a little thing actually."  
  
"RUAKII! Tomoe swung wide and he deftly caught her by the wrists and pinned them between their bodies as he continued to laugh and she giggle.  
  
"We were almost half way up the stair circle, and she was getting all jittery and shit... and I just couldn't help it. I knew we'd lose the bet, but I had to do it."  
  
"What did you do?" Aoshi was getting in on the fun now because HE knew first hand how nervous Tomoe could be.  
  
"I let her get a few steps a head of me... and then I scraped my duster against the wall really loud... and growled. Everything echoes really bad in that place and it sounded a lot worse than I thought it would. Shit! I almost scared myself." Tomoe buried her face in his chest and continued to giggle. "She lets out this big blood curdling scream and comes running down the stairs, but before I can say anything, she bumps right into me... 'I' scared her, and she starts screaming her head off and I'm trying to tell her it's ME. Once she finds out it is ME, she starts trying to rip my head off 'cause I scared her so bad."  
  
"And that is what made you guys come tearing across the bluff?"  
  
"Hell no..."  
  
"Then what did?" Kenshin looked down and Ruakii turned around and met his eyes honestly.  
  
"We were on our way down the stairs when, I swear to God, we heard somebody say 'Daniel March'."  
  
"Say what?" Kenshin looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"'Daniel March.' Some guys name. It was clear as a bell... well, sort of... It was this funky whisper-like voice, but it was clear and we both heard it at the same time. And when we did, WE HAULED ASS!!"  
  
"Daneil March? Saitou, you're full of more shit than a Christmas goose." Sano laughed and walked away.  
  
"Yeah, well then you go and see what you hear, Sagara, and then maybe you won't be so quick to brush us off."  
  
"I can't go yet, Saitou. It isn't my turn." Sano retorted in a voice heavy with sarcasm. "But we'll see what Mr. Aoshi finds. After all, He is the man of logic and absolutes, is he not?"  
  
"Bite me, Sagara."  
  
As it happened none of the next three couples 'saw' or 'heard' anything like Ruakii and Tomoe did, so they did not get vindicated, but the last couple still had yet to enter 'Somber Man'.   
  
Kenshin and Kaoru were standing outside the darkened opening that was the doorway leading inside the main tower, and both had stopped to look upward at the outline of the iron catwalk far above their heads.  
  
"Is that where we are supposedly supposed to go?" She asked in a small voice.  
  
"Yes. I believe it is."  
  
"It looks very high... doesn't it?"  
  
"Yes. It does."  
  
"Do you think the iron is still safe?"  
  
"Yes, most likely. Kaoru?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Are you scared?"  
  
"Yes. Are you?"  
  
"Yes." She turned and looked at his lean profile and then he turned and looked at her. "I have been afraid all my life... of one thing or another. But mostly, I think have been afraid to live, or to be alive. I do not want to be afraid anymore, and I..." He turned and looked into the darkness of the doorway as he squeezed her hand. "I do not want to be alone anymore either."  
  
"Neither do I." She squeezed back, and he turned to look at her again. His colorless gray eyes met and held her black eyes as they stood together in the chill of the moonless night, and Kenshin reached over with his left hand and ever so gently touched her face with the tips of his fingers. The skin of her white cheek was soft and smooth as porcelain as he traced an imaginary line from her cheekbone to her jaw line, and then to the point of her chin.  
  
"You are so beautiful, Little Tanuki. I have never looked at anything more beautiful than you. That I have not." He cocked his head slightly to the right and let his eyes caress every delicate contour of her face. "Eyes so large and round, like sapphire ponds in an elfin face; you have reminded me of a fairy or a nymph almost from the first moment I saw your face." His hand moved to tenderly cup her cheek, and he watched as she closed her eyes and rubbed against that hand not unlike a cat seeking affection from its Master. "I've drawn your face, you know."  
  
"You have?" Her eyes opened and looked at him in wonder. "You have drawn ME?"  
  
"Um-hum. A dozen times or more at least."  
  
"Why? What did you draw?"  
  
"Why? Because your eyes have haunted my footsteps and my mind for days on end and because I cannot get your image out of my mind." A long elegant finger ran down the length of her nose and then dropped to trace the shape of her lips causing her to gasp sharply with a new sense of awareness of him. "What did I draw?" A wicked smile crossed his handsome face, and a soft laugh rolled over his full lips. "That is my business, Tanuki."  
  
"Kenshin! Did you draw dirty pictures of me? Did you?" She caught his hand and momentarily stopped its tantalizing game with her lips.  
  
She was greeted with another deep laugh and his other hand rose to cup her other cheek. "No. Kaoru. I did not draw dirty pictures of you, but I cannot say the thought did not cross my mind."  
  
"Oh," Kaoru had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling, but she could do nothing about the mischief that appeared in her eyes. He was doing terrible things to her sense of balance, and the awful thing about that was she did not seem to care.  
  
"I love to draw your eyes, Tanuki. I am obsessed with them."  
  
"My eyes?"  
  
"Yes. Your eyes. They follow me everywhere... even into my dreams."  
  
"Kenshin... What are you trying to do to me? Are you playing a game with me?"  
  
"NO." He spoke sharply and she flinched at the tone. "I do not play games... unless they are in bed, Tanuki, and then I only play if SHE wants too."  
  
"Have you... Kenshin?"  
  
"I will not lie to you, Kaoru." He said evenly as he dropped both hands back to his sides and turned away from her. "Yes, I have had sex before. Is that what you are asking me?"  
  
"Yes." Her voice was very small.   
  
"It was about a year ago... She was an exchange student from Japan who was only here for two semesters. It was very private, and very quiet. No one ever even knew we were seeing each other."  
  
"Where is she now?"  
  
"Back in Japan."  
  
"You must miss her very much." Kaoru's head hung low and she felt as if all the air had been let out of her. She felt defeated even before she started.  
  
"No, not really. It was just 'a thing' I guess you could call it. We both needed something at that time, and we each had that something the other needed."  
  
"Are you telling me it was some sort of a... a 'trade off' thing?"  
  
"Yes and No. She needed someone to help her with her English and grammar and I needed someone to help me with my math and physics... and we both needed someone to ease the loneliness. But it was never more than a 'band-aid' for the real problem. We knew it would never go any farther than an intimate friendship, so..."  
  
"So..."  
  
"So, we just enjoyed it while it lasted, and when the time came... we said 'Good-bye'."  
  
"Oh." He looked at her and saw the look of desolation on her face, and his feelings of guilt and loneliness increased ten-fold. Looking away from her, he stuffed his hands into the deep pockets of his jacket and started stubbing his foot against the rocky ground. "You think I'm horrible, don't you? You think I'm a cold hearted bastard with no feelings or scruples, right? Well, maybe you're right. I do not really know anymore, and I haven't cared about it for a long time either. I have been alone for so long that it is hard to differentiate real emotions from the ones I have fabricated so I can at least sort of blend in. Do you know how hard it is to try and blend in, Kaoru? Especially when the cards are stacked against you even before you seat yourself down at the table to play?"  
  
"Not really... but I understand what it means to try and blend in when you know you can't. I've been trying to do it every since my parents died."  
  
He swung around and looked at her with hard eyes, and then approached her in two quick steps. Without missing a heart beat, he reached out and pulled her into his arms and held her close to him. "I'm sorry," He whispered against the thickness of her hair as he pushed his face into her neck. "Oh Kaoru. I am so sorry. I'm can be such an asshole sometimes... I talk without thinking, and I say the shittiest things to people. I just..."  
  
"Don't..." She whispered as she pulled away and put a gentle hand over his mouth effectively stopping his words mid sentence. "I don't want to hear you talk about yourself that way. I think I know better than that." The look on her face was sad but understanding as she met his contrite gaze.  
  
He took her hand in his, and finally gave into an urge he could no longer resist; Kenshin pressed a tender but passionate kiss against its wrist creating a cascade of shivers that rushed throughout her body. "How could you know better, Kaoru? You don't really know me?"  
  
"I do not know how I know better, Kenshin, but I do. I can tell you are not a mean spirited person, and I know it is not in your nature to act that way either... I think you do it to keep people from getting too close, and to protect yourself from getting hurt...I think you have been hurt a lot in your life, haven't you, Kenshin?"  
  
"Everything hurts, Kaoru." He whispered in a husky voice. "Everything in my whole life has hurt... Everything I've ever done has been wrong, and almost everything that has happened to me has been bad, and it is all so stupid because all I ever wanted was to be noticed... to be a part of the world... or just a part of something, anything, but I could not even be a part of my own family." His voice was small and filled with sorrow as he tenderly rubbed Kaoru's hand against his cheek. "All I've ever wanted from them was..." But then he stopped and just shook his head unable to continue. The silence around him was more deafening than any shout Kaoru had ever heard. It was like the roar of a whirlwind raging inward off the ocean to engulf them within the fury of its deadly funnel. She slowly raised her other hand and cupped his other cheek, and then spoke to him in the most comforting and assuaging manner she could muster.  
  
"What did you want, Kenshin? What did you want from your family that they never gave you? Tell me."  
  
He stood still for a long moment, and then he let his eyes slowly rise to meet the deep questioning concern of hers. Kaoru sucked in a breath of astonishment as she beheld the look of pure vulnerability etched deeply into the planes of his handsome face. He looked desolate and more lost than anyone she had ever seen before, and the sight of him tore at her heart making it just that much more important to find out what had gone missing in his life. As she looked at him, an amazing thought occurred to her. 'Oh My God, I am looking at his soul.' The pain she felt for him squeezed at her vulnerable soul. 'I am looking at Kenshin Himura's soul.'  
  
"I just wanted them to accept me for who I am, not who they tried to turn me into. I wanted to be trusted, to be believed, to be valued as their son and I...." His voice faded and he dropped his eyes again, but Kaoru thought she knew what he was going to say.  
  
"You wanted to be... Loved, Kenshin? To be loved?"  
  
"Yes." The proud voice cracked under the stress of the emotions he was trying to control, and Kaoru chocked on a sob as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a warm comforting embrace.   
  
"Oh Kenshin. Sweet, wonderful Kenshin... I believe you, I trust you, I accept you... and I value you." She spoke vehemently into his ear and felt him shudder against her, and suddenly both of his arms were around her and holding her tightly against him. "I think you are a very valuable person, and I am so glad I met you... so glad. You made me feel safe again after such a long time of feeling scared and alone." Her arms tightened around his neck, and she pressed herself as close to him as she could. "I don't know why I feel this way, or how I know I can trust you or anything else, but I know I can, and I know that inside of you behind your tough-guy attitude, there is a really sweet guy who's just waiting for you to let him out. You can let him out, Kenshin, I promise I won't do anything to hurt him. I promise."  
  
"Kaoru..." Kenshin rasped against the curve of her throat as he crushed the thinness of her hard against his chest. "Beautiful Kaoru. You do not know how much I want to be with you and just be 'that guy', but it is so hard to let go... it is so hard... be patient, sweet tanuki, please be patient and it will come because now that I have found you, I do not ever want to let go." A rare sound of happiness escaped from Kaoru's throat and then she was pulling away from him, but before Kenshin could speak or do anything, she had captured his lips within the tender urgency of hers. Kenshin stood stunned and pliant within her passionate embrace for a moment as the reality of HER kissing HIM sank into his foggy brain, and then he was reversing the pressure of control and molding her mouth to better fit the contours of his.  
  
"MMMMMM," Kaoru's low moan of pleasure at his shift on dominance brought a rush of warmth to the long frozen flesh of his heart, and Kenshin had the uncanny sensation of new life being planted and beginning to grow within his soul.   
  
He pressed kiss after kiss into the moist softness of her parted lips, and as he cocked his head this way and that, Kenshin found it did not matter from which angle he approached her, Kaoru's mouth seemed to morph perfectly and mold into his like matching puzzle pieces. She was a great kisser, and Kenshin found himself jealously wondering how much practice she had gotten, and with whom.  
  
"Caaassssaannddraaa."  
  
The pair broke apart in startled shock and stared into the dark of the doorway they were still standing in front of.  
  
"Did you hear that?" Kaoru grabbed a handful of Kenshin's jacket and pulled him forcefully over to her. She was trembling and it was not from the cold.  
  
"I... I heard something..." Kenshin stood still as stone cocking his head to the right as he listened intently for anymore odd sounds, but heard nothing. "Hmmmm, maybe it was the wind or some dried leaves or something. I don't hear anything else."  
  
"Are you kidding? That was a voice. It said something, didn't you hear it? It said 'Cassandra' or something like that."  
  
"I don't know... It was all raspy sounding and stuff. I think it was the wind. Calm down, it was nothing, Ok?"  
  
Kaoru looked through the doorway with skepticism and doubt, but nodded her head. "Ok, but you better not do anything to me like Ruakii did to Tomoe, all right?"  
  
Kenshin grinned and put an arm around her so he could pull her in for a hug. "I would not do anything like that to you, Tanuki. If I was going to scare you, I would plan something much more elaborate than this. This is too predictable and way too 'Halloween' for me. So don't worry. No creepy crawly stuff from me."  
  
"Ok, because I have absolutely no intention of letting go of your jacket until we come back out."  
  
"Ok, Tanuki. You hold on, and we'll be just fine." Kenshin kept his arm around her waist and they tentatively walked through the open doorway.   
  
It took several seconds for their eyes to adjust to the darker interior, but there was enough starlight coming through the broken windows so make out the long circular stairway that led up to the Lamp room and the catwalk.  
  
"You ready?" Kenshin asked a wide-eyed Kaoru who seemed to have misplaced her voice and could only nod. "Ok, come one, and let's get this over with." Carefully they stepped over odd debris and broken wood until they reached the bottom of the stairs. Kenshin looked up and followed the circular stair until it disappeared into the darkness over his head. He judged the lighthouse must be about 65 feet tall which would make the circle stair approximately a 55 to 57 foot climb to reach the Lamp room. "We can do this, Tanuki. Just stay close and keep your hand on the wall and we will be there in no time."  
  
"You are sure?" She squeaked, and he chuckled gently.  
  
"Yes, I am sure. Just stay behind me and hold onto my jacket. Ok?"  
  
"Ok... But just for the record, I vote this IS NOT a fun idea."  
  
"Me too. Let's get going so we can get it over with."  
  
"Cool... Great... Can't wait."  
  
"You sound like it." And then they were on their way up the stairway.  
  
The wrought iron stairs creaked and groaned somewhat as Kenshin and Kaoru mounted each one, and the noise was beginning to get to Kaoru.  
  
"You really sure this is safe? You don't think it's like going to pull out of the wall and dump us on the floor down there, do you?"  
  
"No, Honey. I do not think it is going to come out of the wall and dump us."  
  
"Then why is it making so much noise?"  
  
"Cause it's old, Baby. Old things make noise. Didn't you ever have Grandparent's?"  
  
Kaoru giggled. "That's mean."  
  
"Made you laugh."  
  
"Ok. But it was still mean."  
  
"Got your mind off the stairs didn't it?"  
  
"Ok, ok... you're smart, and I worry too much."  
  
"Now you got the idea." A deep chuckle carried back to her and she yanked on his jacket to let him know just what she thought of that. "Hey, cut that out OR we will end up on the floor." Kaoru just smiled, and they went back to climbing.  
  
"Biiittcchh."  
  
"Ok, now I know you had to hear THAT?" Kaoru was up on the step beside Kenshin in a split second with both of her arms wrapped around his waist and her cheek pressed into his back.  
  
"Ummm... Yes, I do believe I heard something that time." With his heart beating in his throat, Kenshin carefully looked around in a full 180 degrees but could see nothing. They waited for a couple of minutes listening as well, but there was no more noise. Now, thoroughly spooked himself, Kenshin kept Kaoru right next to him as then started to climb once more.  
  
"FUCKING WHORE!"  
  
"KENSHIN!" Kaoru cried out and both of them were suddenly pinned against the cold stone wall of the lighthouse. "Kenshin, what the hell was that? Did you hear that? Did you? Oh My Gosh!"  
  
"Yes, I did... SHIT! What the hell is going on in here?" He started looking around again, but still could not see anything. "SANO?" He yelled, "If this is one of your fucking jokes, it isn't a very funny one, asshole." He waited and listened but heard nothing. "SANO?"   
  
"FUCKING WHORE FUCKING WHORE FUCKING WHORE!"  
  
"JESUS CHRIST!" Kenshin grabbed Kaoru's hand and turned to head back down the stairs, but was pulled up short by the vision of an incredibly beautiful woman huddled up against the wall not more than five feet away from then.  
  
"Wha... Who the hell are you?" He asked her in a voice that shook far more than he liked. The woman just sat staring straight across the tower, and said nothing. "Hey, hey Lady? Are you Ok?" Kenshin pulled Kaoru behind him as he carefully approached the woman. She had long dark hair and a perfect cameo profile. As he reached her, Kenshin gently reached out to touch her shoulder, but she suddenly turned to face him and he jerked his hand back in horrified shock. She was looking at him with Kaoru's face. Both Kenshin and Kaoru jerked so suddenly they stumbled and fell backwards onto the steps behind them.   
  
"Holy Shit, holy shit... oh my God... Kaoru? What in the name of heaven?"  
  
"You have to leave," The woman rasped in a hoarse whisper as her face became contorted with terror. "You have to leave before he comes. He's drunk again, and he's dangerous when he's drunk." Her pale wraith like hands reached out towards Kenshin as if in entreaty. "Please, Edmond, leave before he wakes up. He will kill you if he finds you here. You have to leave, My Love." And then she turned and ran silently down the stairs only to disappear at the bottom.  
  
Kenshin's breaths were coming in short harsh gasps, and so were Kaoru's. Neither were sure of what they had just seen, and neither had the mental capacity to discuss it at the moment either. So they just sat leaning on one another while they waited for their senses to calm down. But it was not meant to be. The night was not over for them. It was just beginning. For the hour had just struck the same as it had nearly 300 years before.  
  
  
  
01:46 A.M. October 29, 1818  
  
Somber Man's Lighthouse  
  
Evermore, Maine  
  
Cassandra O'Massy's bedroom  
  
Living Quarters, Somber Man's Lighthouse  
  
"Edmond, please, you have to leave. You have to hide."  
  
"I am not afraid of him, Sandra. I will not hide like a sulking child."  
  
"But you do not know him. He is dangerous, especially when he has been drinking, and he has been drinking ever since he got here."  
  
"Then his senses are dulled and he will be easily dispatched, Darling. Stop worrying so much."  
  
"No, no, no. The drunker Daniel gets the MORE dangerous he is... please, listen to me. He has found us, and he will kill you if you face him. "That is what he wants. He wants to kill you, Edmond. He wants to make me watch you die."  
  
"Cassandra, Darling, please..."  
  
"No, Edmond. He WILL kill you. He is deadly with a pistol, and his blade has never met its match. You cannot beat him, My Love. You have to leave."  
  
"What will you do then?"  
  
"I have always been able to placate him in one way or another. I will do something."  
  
"Are you suggesting that you might..."  
  
"If I have too, I will... You have to understand, Dearest. If it makes him leave for a few days and it gives us time to pack and flee, then it is worth it. I cannot go back to him... I cannot, I cannot. Oohhh..."  
  
"Do not cry, Sandra. Please do not cry, Sweetheart. I understand why you must do this, but it does not mean I have to like what you're doing."  
  
"Oh Edmond, can you forgive me?"  
  
"Yes, yes. I can forgive you. If this man is as dangerous as you say, then I will leave, but I will only stay gone until the morning. If he is not gone by then, by God, then I will face him, come what may. I will not allow you to be so hunted and abused any longer."  
  
"Please, just go. He will wake up soon. Go."  
  
"Kiss me so I know you still love me, Sandra, and then I will go."  
  
"I love you more than anything, Edmond. I love you more than life."  
  
The door closed. 'click'.  
  
  
  
01:54 A.M. October 29, 1818  
  
Cassandra O'Massy's bedroom door is thrown open with enough force to splinter the doorframe.   
  
"Wake-up, Bitch. Your 'usband's 'ere and he wants to sample some of your whore services."  
  
"D-daniel... You are drunk. We should talk later a-after you s-sober up some. Besides, it's the m-middle of the n-night."  
  
"I don't give a bloody piss what time it is, Cassy. I feel like   
  
exercisin' me marital rights... and YOU are goin' to let ME. So, get up and take that bloody shift of NOW!"  
  
"I... It's too cold to g-get out of bed, Daniel. Why don't you come over here?"  
  
"Because I told you to get up and take your clothes off, Whore. I want to watch you strip like the fuckin' whore you are. Now get up and STRIP!"  
  
"I-I... I don't want t-to."  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"I said, I d-don't want t-to, Daniel. I don't want to make love."  
  
"Who said anythin' about 'love', you filthy whore? I never said anythin' about 'love', but I do intend to have you, and I am goin' to have you NOW."  
  
"OH GOD... NO! Daniel, don't do this... Please, for the Love of God... don't do this to me!"  
  
A pause, sounds of a struggle and breaking wood as the bed frame gave way beneath the added weight of a very large man. Small frightened cries and gasps for air echoed against the pale stone.  
  
"'aven't you heard, Cass, God doesn't love Whores, so He isn't goin' to care one bit about what I'm plannin' on doin' to you. Nobody is goin' to care because you are nothin' but a worthless two-bit whore."  
  
"I am still your Wife, Daniel. Doesn't that mean ANYTHING?"  
  
"That 'asn't meant anythin' for a long, long time, Cassy. I thought you knew that by now."  
  
"If it doesn't mean anything, then why don't you just let me go? Why do you keep following me? Why Daniel? Why can't you just leave me alone?"  
  
"Because, you disgustin', unfaithful Bitch, it is because you ARE me Wife that I can't let you go or leave you alone. I may 'ate you with the Devil's own passion, but I can never let you go. I can never let you rest."  
  
"WHY?"  
  
"BECAUSE YOU SHAMED ME AND MY NAME! YOU MADE ME INTO A FOOL!"  
  
"HOW COULD I DO THAT? I HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING TO YOU?"  
  
"YOU LEFT ME!! YOU MADE ME INTO 'ALF A MON IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE COLONY! YOU RUINED ME!"  
  
"HOW COULD I RUIN A MAN LIKE YOU?"  
  
"BECAUSE OF THE RUMORS..."  
  
"WHAT BLOODY RUMORS?"  
  
"THAT I WAS NOT 'USBAND ENOUGH FOR YOU! THAT I WAS NOT MAN ENOUGH FOR YOU! YOU RUINED ME AS A MAN, CASSANDRA! YOU RUINED ME FOREVER, AND I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR MISERABLE LIFE!"  
  
  
  
Soon the sounds of a violent struggle, ripping cloth, and agonized cries and moans of pain fill the small room. Then the sounds of yet another struggled ensued, but this time it was soon followed by the sound of running feet; terrified feet; panicked feet.  
  
October 29,2001  
  
01:58 A.M.  
  
Somber Man's Lighthouse  
  
Circle Stairway  
  
"Are you Ok?" Kenshin turned his forehead into Kaoru's temple.  
  
"I... I guess so. Kenshin?"  
  
"Hummmm?"  
  
"Was that a ghost?"  
  
"I... I do not know. But it was sure the hell weird. That it was."  
  
"No doubt."  
  
"You ready to go?"  
  
"Go?"  
  
"Get the hell out of here?"  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
"Great. Let's go then." He stood up and was in the process of pulling her up with him when it all began.  
  
Muffled cries and the accompanying sounds of a violent struggle began to drift upwards from somewhere in the darkness below the circular stair and through the hollows of the granite tower. The angry voices of a man and a woman locked in fierce argument echoed in the cold night air as furious curses and sobbing pleas were exchanged. The icy fingers of impending doom slid with slippery precision across the cold floor, and then wound their way up the old black wrought iron stairway until it passed Kenshin and Kaoru, leaving them shivering violently in the wake of its promise of bad things yet to come. They looked at each other in frightened confusion, and as Kenshin narrowed his eyes trying to see something in the darkness, he decided it was definitely time to leave. So, he tightened his grip on Kaoru's hand and started pulling her down the stairs behind him.  
  
Then suddenly the tower was filled with the hollow echos of frantically running feet as they tripped and stumbled their way across the floor below. The sound rose high into the old lighthouse until it seemed it had surrounded Kenshin and Kaoru on every side. Kenshin immediately stopped, and pressing himself back against the cold stone wall, he pulled Kaoru back against his side and wrapped a trembling arm around her. They could hear the sounds of the iron circular as it creaked and groaned beneath the hidden weight of the individual who was now climbing them. The mournful and unmistakable sobbing gasps of someone in the throes of frightened distress could be heard as that same someone was making their was up the circular stair, and they were coming closer with each passing moment.  
  
"Ken..shin? What is happening?" Kaoru was terrified and trembling violently as she leaned into the protection of his body. "What is going on?"  
  
"I don't know, Kaoru. I don't know, but just don't move, Honey, Ok. Just stay still and don't let go of me, Kaoru. And, for God's sake, don't make any noise. Be as quiet as you can. No noise, Ok?" She quickly nodded and pressed her cheek against his chest. She was breathing in tiny short breaths. She was scared to death, but Kenshin was just as scared as she was. However, he knew he had to try and maintain some semblance of calm for her so she did not crumble into hysterics or something. He had to try and stay calm until they knew what was going on.  
  
It was only a bare moment or two at the most before the hollow gasping breaths of pain were joined by the sounds of a much heavier pair of footsteps running across the floor, and then quickly mounting the stairs in one great leap that sent the circular into rocking. Immediately the hoarse sobs took on a note of terrified desperation and the sounds of their progress increased frantically. They were almost on top of the two teens who were becoming more frightened by the second.   
  
With a feeling of great apprehension, Kenshin turned to his left and looked over Kaoru's head down the stairs. He sucked in a breath of pure shock and held it as a level of fear he had never experienced before was reached in that splint instant.   
  
The young woman they had seen earlier, who had seemed so real, was now scrambling up the iron steps frantically on her hands and feet. Her long ebony hair was in a tangled mess hanging all around her, her delicate face was tear stained and covered with the blues and purples of darkening bruises, and her flimsy cloth night gown had been ripped and torn over her breasts and was gapping open revealing more bruised flesh beneath. As she approached them, it became easier to see and understand at this point, that she was definitely surrounded by an aura of iridescent light of purest white, and it seemed to illuminate every painful detail about her appearance including the fact that she was partially transparent. This time she did not seem to see either of them as she had earlier, and crawled right passed them as she made her doomed panicked flight up the stairs towards the Lamp room.  
  
The second set of footsteps rounded the stairway suddenly much closer than they had been a moment ago, the terrible noise they made sounded loud and very angry, and it was not but a few seconds before the cause of those sounds became visible.   
  
"Kenshin..." Kaoru tugged on his jacket in an anxious attempt to gain his attention as the second apparition rounded the circular and began to approach their position.  
  
"God, help us." He whispered as he looked into the most malevolent face he had ever seen. "Please don't let us die in this place... God?"  
  
The heavy angry footsteps belonged to tall dark-haired man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, and his brilliant emerald green eyes were glittering diamonds, hard with furious rage as he tried to take the stairs two at a time. He was wearing a white shirt with long flowing puffed sleeves that were gathered at the wrist and then hung over his wrists. It was open at the throat with a loose white tie hanging freely over his broad shoulders. This was definitely a colonial period attire as both Kenshin and Kaoru took in his snug fitting breeches and knee high leather boots.   
  
"Kenshin," Kaoru's voice was barely a breath as she turned to him and put her lips next to his ear. "I.. I don't think he can see us... He's going right passed... just like she did." They watched in frozen fear as the cold fury of the man drew him right in front of them, and then passed onto the higher stairs. The icy cold that was left in his wake caused both teen's breath to become a heavy white steam in the air, and Kaoru shivered in response.  
  
"It's cold. Do you feel it?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"He didn't see us. Did you see that?"  
  
"Yes, I did." His wary violet eyes followed the man's progress as he disappeared up the stairs, and after a quick impulsive thought, Kenshin pulled Kaoru behind him and he followed as quickly as he dared.  
  
"What are we doing?" Kaoru sounded like she thought Kenshin had lost his mind.  
  
"Shhhhhhh," He shot a look back at her that said, 'Trust me.' "Something is really wrong about all of this. I think we should try and see if anything else happens. Come on."  
  
"Oh shit."  
  
"Shhhhhhhh."  
  
Then the door to the Lamp room was ferociously slammed open with a loud 'boom' that reverberated down the iron circular jarring the railing beneath the youths cold hands, but Kenshin was nonplused by the reaction, and he stubbornly continued upward.   
  
By the time he and Kaoru got to the Lamp room, both ghosts had already exited out onto the catwalk. Their raised voices could be heard just as easily as if they had been living flesh and blood. Kenshin carefully led Kaoru passed the long-dark lamp, through the room of glass panes and mirrors, and then as they stepped ever so quietly out into the cold wind blowing across the iron grating of the catwalk, they became spectators to a scene no one had laid eyes on in over 200 years. Cassandra O'Massy's murder.   
  
The ghost of Cassandra O'Massy was standing with her back to the catwalk railing, her hands were behind her, and they were wrapped tightly around the rough iron as she struggled to hang on in the wild wind. Her once pretty face was bruised and swollen from the recent beating she had received at the hands of her estranged husband, Daniel March, who was at that moment, standing threateningly before her, his hands balled into tight fists. They were in the midst of a desperate argument. Desperate for Cassandra because she was swiftly running out of viable options... and catwalk.  
  
"No, Daniel," She was pleading. "It... it's not too late... let me explain, please let me explain... wait... please." Tears streamed down her face. It was Kaoru's face. The resemblance was uncanny and it gave both Kenshin and Kaoru cold chills of great unease.  
  
"I am through waiting on you, Cassy." Daniel snarled at the terrified woman as he began to advance on her tenuous position. "No more waiting... no more. Your whoring days are over, Bitch. It's time to meet your maker." He reached out for her and she was trying to back up, but there was nowhere for her to go. Cassandra O'Massy was out of options, out of time, and out of catwalk.  
  
"Please, Daniel..." Her voice was desperate, pleading, bordering on hysteria as her terrified deep blue eyes read her fate glittering in his rage filled emerald eyes. "Listen to me... Dan..."  
  
"Go to Hell..." He spat viciously. "And take you Whore's lies with you." His strong slender hands reached,and then lunged out for her, grasped for and found the smallness of her waist, and then bending his knees, he heaved her upwards.  
  
"DANIEL! NO! WAIT!" Cassandra's high pitched scream of terror was cut short as he flung her over the edge of the iron railing. But the quiet of the night was suddenly filled with another scream; a bone chilling sound that rose up from beyond the cliffs as her body fell, and fell, and fell until it was dashed and crushed against the massive stones that rested at the base of the island. In a split instant of time, the world turned silent and became empty as if all life had died with the young woman who had perished on the rocks far below.  
  
The ghost of Daniel March stood for a long moment just looking over the edge of the railing where he had maliciously thrown her body only seconds before.  
  
"She's dead. Good-bye Princess. I... I'm sorry... I..." The voice held the hollow sounds of defeat and desolation, and finally he turned from his morose vigil and slowly reentered the Lamp room.  
  
Kenshin had been holding Kaoru crushed tightly against him ever since Daniel's ghost had thrown Cassandra's ghost over the top of the railing in a desperate effort to keep her from screaming.  
  
"You Ok?" He asked her gently as he cupped her face and looked into her terrified eyes. "Can we go back inside now, or do you want to wait a while?"  
  
"No, let's go after him. He hasn't disappeared yet. I think that means he isn't done... we've come this far. We might as well see what else he does."  
  
"Ok, but then we go."  
  
"Deal. Kenshin?"  
  
"What, Honey?"  
  
"I don't ever want to come back here again, Ok?"  
  
"Not a problem... I do not either." And he gently took her freezing hand in his and led her back inside.   
  
Carefully and quietly they followed in the wake of the disappearing ghost watching him intently as he rounded each turn of the stairs. They followed him all the way down until they reached the bottom and had to stop because he sat down on the last two steps. The two teens jumped down the few feet it took to get off the steps they were standing on, and then circled the glowing apparition until they were in front of him. He was setting with his head in his hands, and it appeared he was crying in despair or grief.  
  
"What have I done?" He sobbed in a voice full of anguish. "What have I done? Oh God, Cassy?"  
  
Kenshin was slowly, carefully, and as stealthily as possible making their way towards the freedom of the doorway when the most unexpected thing happened. Daniel March raised his head and looked at them. He looked at them right in the face.  
  
"I loved 'er, I did. I loved 'er more than anythin' else in this world, and I would have laid the universe at 'er feet if only she would have loved me back." He looked down at his hands and splayed them out in front of him with palms up. "I did not intend to kill 'er, truly I did not. But I always did have a frightful temper back then. I drank, a lot. Too much to be sure. That is why she left me. I could never admit I was a poor Husband. I always had to blame 'er, but it was my fault, it was. I could not face up to it and accept she left me because of me drinkin' and me damned temper, but that is the bloody truth of it."  
  
Kenshin and Kaoru were both frozen in total terror and astonishment as they listened to the litany of a long dead and pitiful man.   
  
"Is he talking to us... Kenshin?"  
  
"I... I do not know. But I think it is time to go."  
  
"Definitely." As he started to sidle over towards the door once more, Daniel whipped his head up and stared at them again. The vicious rage that was reflected on his face stopped them mid stride. Kenshin felt all of the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as his primitive alarm system went off.  
  
"What the bloody hell are you doin' 'ere, you fuckin' bastard?" He sprang to his feet and turned toward Kenshin in a very threatening manner. "I told you to get the hell out of town, Fetlock, or else I was gonna put a bullet in your fuckin' 'ead."  
  
"Kenshin, he's talking to you like he knows you. Like you are somebody else. What is going on?" Kaoru was becoming confused as well as frightened. There was something very wrong about all of this. Very wrong.  
  
"Ahhhhh.... I... My name... is Kenshin. I am not Fetlock." Kenshin was completely terrified and had no idea what to do in the face of this bazaar twist of circumstance. He moved Kaoru behind him and shielded her with his body.  
  
"What kind of bullshite are you trying to feed me, Fetlock? I am not that big of a fool, and I am not that drunk either. Now, if you know what's good for you, you will get your lilly-white whore-monger's ass out of my sight, and out of Evermore before tomorrow mornin', or you're goin' to be a dead man."  
  
"Look, I-I told you, I'm n-not Fetlock, Ok... I'm just a kid in the wr-rong place. I am leaving now. Ok?"  
  
"GET OUT! You filthy coward! Get out and get away from me Wife! Get out before I kill you right now!" Daniel made a rush at Kenshin, and the red-haired youth grabbed Kaoru's hand and pulled her roughly with him as he darted for the door. But the sound of a mournful moan and a cry of broken hearted grief made them stop and turn around. The ghost of Daniel March had fallen to its knees and was bent over as if in great pain. A great mournful wailing cry rose up from it, and then the broad shoulder began to shake with the sobbing of great emotional grief.  
  
"Noooooooooooooooo....." It cried and threw it's head back raising its arms up toward the top of the tower. "Nooooooooooooo, Noooooooooo, Nooooooooo, Cassssssyyyyyy......." It hugged itself and began rocking back and forth as it cried. "Why? Why? Why 'ave you done this? Why 'ave you come back? Why couldn't you stay gone? Why couldn't you leave me alone? OOOoooooooooooooooooooooo......oooooooooooooooooo."  
  
"What is he talking about, Kenshin?"  
  
"I am not sure.... Unless..." Kenshin's face had a look of trepidation as he studied the distraught ghost, and then he turned and looked Kaoru in the face. "Unless he thinks YOU are Cassandra come back. You do look exactly like her."  
  
"Oh, no way... No way!" Her eyes grew huge and round in her face, and Kaoru frantically shook her head. "That is completely nuts, and you know it."  
  
"Well, yes it is, but HE'S completely nuts... right?"  
  
"Good point... Great. A 200 year old dead psycho-murderer thinks I'm his dead wife reincarnated. Aren't I just special." She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Lets get out of here while he's occupied with something else, Ok?"  
  
"Absolutely." But as they turned to go, Daniel shot from his feet and darted across the space separating them all, and placed himself between the door and Kenshin and Kaoru.  
  
"You cannot 'ave 'er again, Fetlock. She is mine. She was always mine. I will not let you steal 'er from me AGAIN."  
  
"I told you, this is not your wife. Your wife is dead... you killed her for God's sake. Don't you remember?"  
  
"It does not matter anymore. She has come back to me. She has come back to give me another chance to make everythin' right...AND I WILL NOT LET YOU GET IN ME WAY AGAIN!" But before Kenshin could act again, Daniel surged forward and passed into Kaoru's body.  
  
HE HE HE HE HE!  
  
Mean place to stop a chapter, idn't it? ;OD  
  
Hope you all enjoy.  
  
And as always... take care and God Bless.  
  
Happy New Year... Don't Drink and Drive. Use a designated driver so everbody gets home in one piece. (Boy, I really sound like somebodies Mom now, don't I?)  
  
Read and Review  
  
Tsuki-san :) Until next time. 


	7. A Vision From Hell

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, but I had a few things going on at home that really sucked up my time. Plus, I had some major revisions that had to be made to one of my fics on the AFF before my readers over there ate me alive. Anyway, here is my latest offering for you all to enjoy, and I do sincerely hope you enjoy. As always, God Bless. Tsuki-san  
  
Beta-reader note: I'm so sorry it's taking even longer! Somehow by the time the text got to me, my stupid wordpad screwed up the format or something so I had to do it all over again manually. -sigh- So here it is, rather late. As usual, any mistake grammatically is entirely mine, so please let me know if I've made any errors! Nigihayami Haruko  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
A Vision of Hell  
  
The enormous blue pools of Kaoru's eye's suddenly blew wide open into massive round balls of terrified surprised and pain as the malevolent spirit passed through her flesh and into her soul. Kenshin watched in horrified helplessness as she was viciously thrown back, her thin arms flailing ineffectually at her sides as she tried to reach for some sort of support to stop her from falling, but there was nothing to hold onto causing Kaoru to drop like a stone landing with a 'THUD'.  
  
"Ooooff," The air left her lungs with a rush, but before a single logical thought could register in her ice-cold brain, a wave of nausea and terrific pain lanced through Kaoru's vitals wrenching a strangled cry from her as she jerked into a fetal ball and began to convulse wildly on the floor. This finally spurred Kenshin from the place he had been standing frozen with fear and disbelief, and he quickly flew to her side kneeling next to her with the back of his hand pressed to his mouth as the bile of terror rose in the back of his throat. Swallowing hard against the fear, he stared in horrified confusion at Kaoru's jerking body even as the cold analytical logic of his keen intelligence instinctively began to try and figure a way out of this nightmare before it was too late for her.  
  
"What do I do?" He cried over her convulsing and shuddering form. "Oh my God! What do I do!?" In all his life he had never felt this helpless nor this frightened before. Not even that night, when he was in the ally with all those Cop's yanking his body all over the place and snarling spit in his face, had he been this afraid. At least that night he had been in control of himself. Even if he had not been in control of that situation, he had retained his own self control, but this was different. This was someone else . . . and this was not just ANY situation.  
  
"Kaoru?" He reached out and grabbed a hold of her and tried to pull her into his arms, but her body was jerking so violently that it was impossible. Kenshin began to feel the first true sensation of panic gripping his heart. "GOD DAMN YOU, DANIEL MARCH!!" His fists were clenched tightly as they rested on his thighs, and his head was thrown backward as he yelled out into the darkness of the tower in furious frustration. "I TOLD YOU, YOU CAN'T HAVE HER . . . , CAN YOU HEAR ME, YOU FUCKING MANIAC?? YOU. CANNOT. HAVE. HER."   
  
There was a long deafening pause of silence that followed Kenshin's outburst, and then a great moaning and creaking sound could be heard coming from somewhere high above his head making all the hair on his arms and the back of his neck stand up in primitive fear and awareness. It slithered and slipped along the wrought iron railing, echoing down the circular stairs like an old rusty gate hinge swinging in the cold ocean breeze. Soon, it was followed by the unmistakable sound of the upper door to the Lamp room being slowly pushed open as it scrapped along the cold stones until it banged firmly against the solid granite wall. As all of these unexplainable sound drifted down the tower to his terrified ears, Kenshin raised his frightened amber-gold eyes to peer into the darkness above him trying to discover what was happening. To his consternation, his teeth began to chatter, and it had nothing to do with the cold. Carefully, as he turned an ear to listen more intently to the now silent tower, he realized the tower was not silent at all. Kenshin could hear something coming.  
  
A long scrape, a pause, a sliding drag. A long scrape, a pause, a sliding drag. It was coming out of the Lamp room and, whatever 'It' was, It was starting to come down the circular stairway.  
  
A creaking step, a solid 'thump', a pause, and then a sliding drag. It had successfully navigated the first step. A creaking step, a solid 'thump,' a pause, and another sliding drag. The second step was breached and 'It' moved on to the third and the forth and the fifth step. Soon the monotonous litanies of the repetitious sounds were really getting to Kenshin as the moments passed by, and he cast a fearful gaze at the shuddering form of Kaoru before slowly rising to his feet. He knew he was the only thing that stood between her and 'whatever' was coming down the stairway, and he was going to have to find a way to keep anything else from happening to her. Slowly he turned toward the stairs and tried to prepare himself to face whatever was coming down to them. He could only imagine that it must be something horrible and even unspeakable . . . there was only one thing left up there was . . . Cassandra, or what was left of her. "Dear God," He whispered in a tight voice as his body began to tremble, "Please help me . . ." Kenshin tried to remember the chi breathing exercises he had studied in his karate classes for the last three years, and tried using them to calm himself. He needed a clear head if he was going to get them out of this thing in one piece, and this was the only way he could think of to clear his mind and maintain his self control.   
  
As he concentrated on his breathing trying to clear his mind of all negative thoughts and energy, the muted sounds of the scraping and dragging splintered into his mind and forced his amber eyes to slam open against his will. At that moment Kenshin beheld the creature that was responsible for all the odd sounding noises and the scream of primitive terror he desperately tried to suppress beneath his training tore its way free from the core of his soul as he stumbled backwards falling to the floor. His mind and his heart cried out in denial that what his eyes saw could not be real, and a frantic hand rubbed furiously at his shocked eyes. But when he removed the hand, the horror he could not believe existed still remained standing where it had stopped and was now looking at him with its one clouded blue eye.  
  
"Nooo, oh God, nooo." Kenshin shook his head in horror and disbelief but could not look away from the maimed and mangled specter that had once been the beautiful Cassandra. Most of her glorious long black hair was gone, rotted away in the abrasive salty water of the Cove that was her grave. The rotted flesh that covered her corpse hung in sagging flaps and pieces that revealed beneath them, as she moved, the shriveled muscles and tendons as well as the chalky gray of naked bones. Her right leg hung uselessly at her side having been completely severed from her body except for the attachments of a few ligaments and one piece of flesh, where once a shapely buttock had been. The jagged edges of numerous broken ribs protruded through the rotted linen of her cotton shift, and her left arm was missing entirely.  
  
This pitiful specter held onto the wrought iron railing by crossing her body with her right hand, and balanced the weight of her body on her intact left leg as she moved down the stairs. Finally Kenshin could finally understand how the strange noises he had heard were made. The sliding drag was her pulling her armless left shoulder along the stone wall, while the dead thump was the severed leg dropping from one stair to the next. The pause in between must be caused from her moving her hand down the railing for a new grip to pull herself farther along.   
  
But despite the horror of that rotted and broken corpse that stood openly displayed before him, it all paled beneath the impact of the ruin of what had once been a beautiful face - Kaoru's face.   
  
The entire left side of her face was gone, the skin and most of the musculature having been stripped away as she had plummeted into the razor sharp rocks at the base of the island. Her nose, her eye, her ear, and a large part of her jawbone had simply been sheared away by the force of her impact. It was also most likely the same collision that had deprived her of her arm, and perhaps severed the opposite leg. It was a wonder to him that her skull had managed to remain intact at all; although, there was a great depression over the place where her left eye should have been.  
  
Kenshin was frozen with horror of what he was seeing and his heart was beating so fast he thought it was going to burst out of his throat to run free like a wild thing gone mad. His lungs felt as if they were made of lead inside of his chest, and he could not seem to force himself to draw even one single breath of air. He could not move. He could not look away. He could not even think.   
  
"Hhhhheeelllpp . . . mmmeeee . . . Edddmmoonnd . . . " The voice sounded like dried leaves being crushed in a vicious fist, but it was enough to finally break the spell of terror that surrounded the young redheaded teen. Loud gasping sounds were heard as he breathed in a rapid succession of deep breaths and then started to cough as he caught more dust than air. Frantically blinking his eyes, Kenshin stared for a short horrified moment at the entreating form of the dead rotted corpse standing on the stairs above him, and then he rolled to his feet and rushed back to Kaoru's side. He found she was no longer convulsing, nor was she curled into such a tight ball of pain either, but her eyes were wide open and staring blankly into space as if she saw nothing around her.  
  
"Kaoru, Honey?" He gently shook her by the shoulder but got no response from his efforts so he called her name in a louder and firmer voice. "Kaoru? Kaoru!?" Kenshin felt the fingers of both desperation and panic curling around his heart again as he searched his mind for something he could do to help her. "What can I do?" He breathed. "What can I . . . " Suddenly his head whipped up as an idea occurred to him. It was a bizarre, but considering everything else that had happened tonight, what the hell ... it just might work.  
  
Looking over his shoulder, Kenshin made sure the specter had not moved, and then he leaned over and gathered into his arms the limp body of the girl who had come to mean so much to him in such a remarkably short period of time. As he picked her up, he turned to face the unmoving apparition of Cassandra O'Massy, taking a deep breath, he took two long strides forward until he stood almost in the direct center of the tower, and then he dropped Kaoru's feet to the floor while he continued to hold her up with one arm around her middle.   
  
"Help me, God ..." He muttered under his breath as he locked gazes with the corpse and slowly reached in front of Kaoru and cupped her chin in his free hand carefully tilting her face upwards until the angle was just right, and then, with a prayer in his heart, Kenshin put his bizarre idea into motion.  
  
"Look, Daniel ... " He spoke softly into Kaoru's small shell-like ear. "Look ... just there ... can you see her?" The body in his arms jerked once ... very violently. Kenshin continued. "Do you see HER, Daniel? Do you see THAT THING up there?" He forced Koaru's chin up higher making her eyes look upon the hideous corpse that leaned against the granite wall above them. Again the body jerked violently in Kenshin's arms, but now the head began to try and resist the hold he had on its chin, but he held on firmly. "Look at it, you Bastard ..." He hissed. "LOOK AT IT!" And as he took one more step forward, the body in his arms began to flail and tried to pull away from the horror that stood before it. "THAT IS YOUR WIFE! THAT IS YOUR CASSANDRA!"  
  
"Noooooooooooo ... " Kaoru's voice rose high and thin as the frantic spirit of Daniel March struggled to pull away from the hellish vision before 'their' eyes.  
  
"Yesss." Kenshin's voice took on the cruel taint most who knew him would have found quite usual had they been there to hear it. "Look at her, you fucking asshole. Look at what YOU did to her ... YOU killed her ... SHE IS DEAD and YOU DID IT!"  
  
"NOOOOO ... " Kaoru's body was fighting with an incredible amount of strength and it was taking almost everything Kenshin had to keep her subdued and maintain the visual contact needed between Daniel March's ghost and Cassandra's rotting specter.  
  
"LOOOOOK!" He screamed and lunged forward another step bringing them within only a few feet of the horror on the stairs. "LOOOK AT HER!"  
  
"Aaaayyyyyyyahhhh!!" The gut-wrenching scream of grief and horror rose and split the cold frosty air like a great sword cutting through the most frail tissue leaving behind only the blood and the death, and suddenly Kaoru's body went completely limp in Kenshin's arms.  
  
"K-Kaoru?" He stumbled over her name as he lowered her to the floor and fearfully searched her still features. "Kaoru? Oh God, no ... Kaoru!" He cried out and lifted her against his chest in grief. "Please do not do this to me ... Please ..."  
  
"Damn ... you ... Fetlock. Damn you to hell everlastin'." Kenshin looked up in shocked surprise at the sound of another voice speaking in the strained silence besides his, and looked into the exhausted fading face of Daniel March. "I told you I would not let you take 'er from me again, you filthy Limey-Bastard . . . I told you . . . "  
  
"Daniel ..." Kenshin stared into the pained and grief-stricken face of the long dead Irishman where he lay on his stomach a few short feet away from him and the now unconscious Kaoru, and felt a small sense of pity for him. "I did not take her from you, Daniel ... you killed her. Don't you remember?" His voice was beginning to take on an almost pleading sound as he tried to get through to the obsessed spirit. "Why can't you remember, Daniel? You have to remember ... You killed Cassandra ... She is dead. You saw her yourself."  
  
"Fuck you, Fetlock. I might have thrown 'er over the edge, but it was your 'ands that kilt her. It was you that kilt me Princess, Eddy, you bloody Limey's son-of-a-whore. You kilt 'er when youtook her away from me."  
  
"Daniel. I'm not Fet . . . "  
  
"Shut the fuck up you bleedin' Rube." The ghost rolled over onto his side and sat part of the way up. "I'll get 'er back." He raised his hand and pointed a stern finger at Kenshin as his lips pealed back into a fiendish sneer. "Mark me words, Edmond Fetlock, I'll get her back and then it will be your soul that's goin' to rot in 'ell, not mine." And then the Ghost of Daniel March faded into the black of the tower and was gone.  
  
"Noooo. Wait!" Kenshin reached out his hand toward the place where the dead man had lain, but he was no longer there. "No, please no." Looking up to where Cassandra's specter had stood, Kenshin found that she, too, had gone. He and Kaoru were alone ... again, but he was no closer to knowing what to do than he had been before. He had not saved them from anything.  
  
"Kaoru," He gently touched her pale cheek with tender fingers, and then stood up with her in his arms. "It is way past time we got the hell out of here, Honey." His voice was low and hard as flint as he turned and walked out of the doorway and back into the chilled night air and the freedom they should have found a long time before now.  
  
It was a long walk back to the bluff, and when they got there, everyone was freaking out.  
  
"What the hell happened up there??" Sano's voice and face were filled with terrified worry as he looked into Kenshin's stony face. "Kenshin?"  
  
"What happened to my sister? What's wrong with Kaoru??" Yahiko was at Kenshin's side  
  
pulling on his sleeve in frightened anxiety. "Mr. Himura? Is Kaoru gonna be Ok? Mr. Himura??"  
  
"Himura?" Misao came to stand next to him, and, touching his arm softly, was able to get him to look at her. The emotions and unspoken thoughts reflected in his glittering golden eyes made her catch her breath. "Oh no . . . " She whispered as she tightened her grip slightly. "We gotta gets her back home fast, don't we?" He nodded sharply, and moved past her walking steadily back down the luff toward the rickety bridge. Even Ruakii seemed worried as he collected Yahiko, Quii, and Tomoe and started them back along the edge of the bluff behind Kenshin's retreating form. Aoshi pulled up next to a stunned and worried Misao and gently took her hand in his, and tugging gently on it, pulled her along behind him. Sano ran up beside the silently walking couple and whispered something to Aoshi who nodded his head in agreement, and then, leaving a gapping Megumi behind with them, Sano headed down the bluff after Kenshin.   
  
"Hey, hang on. You can't go across the bridge alone with her like that. Wait up, will ya?" Sano quickly loped up beside Kenshin and fell into step beside him. Worry and curiosity welled up inside of him, but he did not dare say a word. Not after looking at the expression on Kenshin's face when he had come back from the Lighthouse carrying an unconscious Kaoru. Besides, his eyes were that creepy yellow-gold color again, and Sano did not want to mess with him while he was in THAT kind of a mood. He was remembering all to well what had happened the last time Kenshin's eyes had turned that color. Right now all he was really worried about was the Kamiya girl. She and her brat brother were the Wards of Dr. And Mrs. Gensai and if anything serious had happened to her out there tonight ... well, the shit was really going to hit the fan.   
  
As he looked down at her pale still features, Sano shivered, remembering what had been going on while Kenshin and the girl were gone inside the Lighthouse. The rest of the group had been standing out on the bluff in helpless shock and growing fear as they listened to all of the screaming and arguing that had started going on over there ... But not only that, they had been listening to all of the DIFFERENT voices that had been involved with the screaming and arguing. There were far more than just two people responsible for all of that noise, and that fact had gotten them all really spooked, but when Kenshin had showed up with an unconscious Kaoru in his arms, everything became all too real and it was not a game anymore. Suddenly it really did not matter who won the bet or who lost. They all just wanted to get the hell out of there and get Kaoru home so they could make sure she was all right.  
  
October 29, 2001  
  
Sunday, 03:17 A.M.   
  
Girl's Dormitory, Ive Payne High School  
  
As he continued to tenderly cradle the unconscious body of Kaoru Kamiya in his arms, Kenshin quietly followed Misao through the back door of the girl's dormitory. This was one thing he had never thought he would be doing while enrolled at Ive Payne, and that was sneaking into the girl's dorm without coming to 'see' someone. Of course, at this point in time, that was the farthest thing from his mind. Right now all he wanted to do was get Kaoru to her room, lay her down, and try to see if he could her to wake up. The fact that she was still unconscious was causing him a great deal of worry and anxiety. It was becoming tantamount that he be positively certain she was physically alright and that she was lucid and coherent in her mind. He would never be able to sleep until he knew what had happened to her mind after it had been invaded by the spirit of Daniel March, and Kenshin also knew that he could never forgive himself if she had been hurt in any way. After all, had he not been the one to promise her that everything would be all right? Had he not said, that all she had to do was stay close to him and he would not let anything bad happen to her? Guilt and self recrimination were bouncing around in his head and gnawing at his soul until he almost felt as if he could drop to his knees and cry, but, of course, he would never let that happen. He would never give into that kind of emotion ... especially with Misao right here. Yet, he could not shake the worry nor the anxiety that chewed on his conscience.   
  
To tell the truth, Kenshin could not remember when he had ever felt so worried about anyone ... except maybe Soujiro ... or Cleo. He worried about Cleo all of the time. He worried about her learning to talk, learning to read, learning to write, learning how to draw things the right way. He worried about her having nightmares while he was not there to chase the monsters away, and he worried about her growing up with out ever really knowing who he was. That was the one thing Kenshin worried about the most. He was afraid Cleo would never really know who he was, and that when he finally got out of this hell-hole, she probably would not want too. Thanks to his parents.  
  
"In here." Misao's hissing whisper caught Kenshin's attention back to the present and he silently ducked through the door she was holding open. As he stepped inside, she closed the door and flipped on the light.  
  
"Geez ... Misao!" Kenshin gritted between his teeth as the brightness of the light pierced  
  
through his head and tried to tear his eyes out of their sockets. "You could warn a guy, you know."  
  
"Sorry," She apologized lamely and shrugged. "Didn't think about it."  
  
"Fine," He glared at her with glittering amethyst jewels and then looked expectantly over at the neatly made bed and waited. With a flurry of flustered gestures Misao walked over to the bed and pulled the top comforter and sheets down, and then watched with surprised eyes as Kenshin ever so gently laid Kaoru's body upon the soft mattress. Then she watched as he carefully laid Kaoru's legs out straight and then adjusted her head into a comfortable position on the downy pillow. 'I'll be damned,' Misao thought in surprise. 'He does have a heart in there after all ... who woulda thought?'  
  
"Kaoru?" Kenshin called the name softly as he sat down next to her and reached out too gently brush some stray strands of black hair from her pale face. "Kaoru? Honey ... can you hear me? Wake up, Baby ... It's me ... It's Kenshin. Can you wake up for me? Please?" Misao continued to listen with a new insight on this exceptionally complex young man as his voice took on an unusual tone of urgency and she began to realize that something very important as well as something very terrible must have happened between these two during their harrowing visit to the Lighthouse.   
  
"Kaoru ... Please wake up, Honey ... You are really starting to scare the shit out of me." Kenshin touched her cool cheek with his fingertips and then leaned down and very gently brushed his lips across hers in a worried yet tender kiss. "Please ... wake up." As his head dropped, his face was buried inside the thickness of her hair where it had piled up around her neck. "I have to know you are Ok, Kaoru. I have to know that He did not hurt you ... Please, Baby. You have to wake up." Kenshin's voice took on a thick husky tone as he burrowed deeper into the curve of her throat and he placed his arms tenderly on the mattress on either side of her shoulders so his hands could hold her. "Wake up, Kaoru ... Wake up."  
  
"Himura?" Misao laid a soft hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Kenshin? Hey, guy ... what happened to you guys up there tonight? What happened to 'her'?"  
  
"You would not believe me if I told you, Misao." Was his muffled reply. "Nobody would ...   
  
It's too ... unreal."  
  
"Yes I would." She knelt down on the floor next to his legs and put a trusting hand on his thigh. "I would believe you ... Hell, after listening to all of that screaming and shit that was coming from that place, I think I would believe just about anything you said."  
  
"You heard all of that?" He lifted his head and looked down at her with violet eyes filled with shock.   
  
"Of course ... we all did. Good grief, it sounded like someone was getting murdered in there ... ummm ... you know what I mean." She screwed her lips up in an embarrassed pout as she realized the unfortunate pun that she had inadvertently made.  
  
"Yes, I do know what you mean, and, Misao ..." Those same shocked violet eyes took on a deadly serious gleam as they bore into her blue-green ones. "Someone did get murdered up there ... and Kaoru and I saw it. We saw the whole god-awful damn thing."  
  
"You ... You saw ...?" Misao's eyes grew into huge round balls of astonishment as she tried to assimilate what Kenshin had just told her. "What the hell are you talking about? What did you see?"  
  
"We stood and watched as Daniel March murdered his Wife, Misao. We watched him pick her up and throw her over the edge of the catwalk ... we saw it as if it were happening to real people."  
  
"You're shitting me, Himura." Her head shook in abject denial.  
  
"No. I am not." He looked back at Kaoru's pale face in sadness, and then continued. "She looked just like Kaoru ... just exactly alike."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Cassandra ... Her face ... it was Kaoru's face. They were exactly the same." Kenshin reached out tracing the line of Kaoru's cheekbone and jawline, then the gentle slope of her nose. "It was ... uncanny ... the resemblance. It was like looking at identical twins."  
  
"Himura ... you are talking ... crazy."  
  
"I knew you would not believe me, didn't I say so, Misao?" His voice twisted into a sardonic sneer as he turned away from her completely.  
  
"Well, yeah but this is ... it's just ... it's ..."  
  
"It's what?" He snapped. "Do you think we were up there making all of that fucking noise by ourselves? Or maybe, maybe we just happen to run into a couple of transients that NOBODY else did, and THEY scared the shit out of us."  
  
"Himura ... Quiet down, or you'll have old man Gensai in here breathing down our necks."  
  
"Whatever," He snorted. "I don't give a shit about old man Gensai."  
  
"Fine ... maybe you don't but I do. I could get expelled for having you in here. Geez."  
  
"So sorry ... I will try to be more ... cooperative in the future, Miss Machimaki."  
  
"God. I forgot what a sarcastic asshole you really were."  
  
"Glad I could take the opportunity to remind you."  
  
"Shut-up. I'm your friend, remember?"  
  
"With friends like you ..."  
  
"Hey, you big jerk. If you don't want me to be your friend, all you have to do is ..."  
  
"Misao ..." Suddenly the frustrated war of words between the two irritated friends was abruptly brought to a close as Kaoru's tiny whisper floated up and ended it. "Don't call Kenshin 'a jerk'. Ok?"  
  
"Kaoru??" Both Kenshin and Misao were leaning over the pale girl's face in show of deep  
  
concern. Kenshin's hand was trembling as it gently cupped her cool cheek and tilted her face so he could look into her eyes. "Kaoru ..." The softest and most tender smile Misao had ever seen in her life crossed the fine features of the confusing boy next to her. "Are you Ok?" He asked her in a gentle concerned voice. "Are you hurt or anything, Honey?"   
  
Kaoru drew a deep shaky sigh and blinked her eyes several times as she tried to focus on the handsome face looking so intently into hers. "Kenshin?" Her hand shakily lifted from her stomach and covered his where it cupped her face. She could feel the warmth of his palm as it conformed to her cheek and she turned her face into that warmth even as she let her fingers slid in between his.  
  
"Yes." He let his thumb tenderly stroke the softness of her skin as he leaned forward and rubbed his nose against hers. "Are you Ok?" He asked again as he pulled back slightly and worriedly searched her semi-glassy eyes. "Are you hurt or anything?"  
  
"I... I don't think so." Her other hand rose and cupped his face as she looked into his concerned violet eyes. "But I do have a terrible headache." A small laugh escaped his lips just before he turned them into the palm of her hand and pressed a tender kiss against it.  
  
"I would think so." He said quietly, and then met her eyes again. "Do you remember anything that happened? Do you remember going to the Lighthouse or anything that we did inside?"  
  
"I..." Her delicate brows knitted in confusion as she searched his face for clues and answers, and then the dawning light of memory filled her face and those beautiful sapphire diamonds filled with tears. "Oh... nooo." Both hands came to cover her face as everything came back to her in the rush of a single moment. "Kennsshiin..." She sobbed and reached for him wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and shoulders even as he gathered her up and held her close against his heart.  
  
"It is all right now, Tanuki." He whispered into the thickness of her hair as he pulled her closer feeling her tremble with shock and horror. "It is all over, and everything is all right now... I promise. It is all right... Do not cry, Tanuki... Please do not cry." Kenshin rocked Kaoru back and forth crooning softly to her as if she were a small child in need of comfort after a bad dream. His hand gently stroked the long length of her glossy black hair over and over as he tenderly pressed soft kisses against her neck and nape as he murmured soft words of solace into her sensitive ear.   
  
Misao was completely taken aback as she watched the couple interact with each other. This was not something she would have ever thought she would see coming from Kenshin Himura, the original 'Stone Cold Heart'. Quietly she backed away from the two of them and slipped out of the door closing it quietly behind her leaving them alone. As she walked down the darkened hallway towards her own room, Misao decided that given Kaoru's bizarre behavior once she finally woke up, Kenshin must have been telling the truth, but if he was, that meant... She stopped in the middle of the hallway as a chill raced up her spine.  
  
The Lighthouse was really haunted.  
  
"Oh Shit!"  
  
Back inside Kaoru's room Kenshin continued to hold her close to him as she sobbed uncontrollably in the aftermath of shocked realization. Her mind was screaming with fear and denial while her soul was shriveling inward upon itself in an instinctive desperation of trying to hide from the reality it was refusing to face. Horrible images of smoke-thin ghosts, plunging bodies, and rotted corpses stumbled and collided with one another within the jumbled erratic kaleidoscope that was her mind, while the reality of what was truth and what was fantasy seemed to be blurring into one edgeless gray world.   
  
Kaoru thought she was going insane, all she could do was hold onto Kenshin and pray that her mind was not splintering into crystal fragments the way it had before... before... before...  
  
Suddenly deep within her mind an image began to take shape. An image she had not allowed herself to look at or see for a very long time. It started out very small, no bigger than a mite, but then it began to grow and grow until it spread far and wide filling the infinite spaces of her mindscape. Blurry wavering lines of brilliant red, yellow, and orange swept across the dark backdrop of the picture, and then there were the glaring painful flashes of pure white that hurt her eyes to look at. It was so hard to see anything because it was all so blurry and out of focus... It was always that way. She could never quite bring the whole picture into a clear sharp image. All of the edges remained liquid and bled into one another as she ran through the leaping reds and oranges, and suddenly she could smell smoke and feel the tremendous heat on her skin. Then the screaming came. It always came after the smoke and the heat, but she could never finish the end of the image-vision. She could never finish it...  
  
"Mother... Daddy..." The sound of Kaoru's anguished whisper against his shoulder startled Kenshin. 'Mother? Daddy?' He thought. 'What do her parents have to do with this?' Tenderly he pulled her back away from him just far enough so that he could look into her ravaged face, and what he saw there made his heart stop and his breath freeze in his lungs. Her face was a distorted mask of grief and sorrow unlike any he had ever witnessed before, and the look in her eyes was a million miles away. Kaoru was no longer thinking about what had happened up at the Lighthouse. She was back on the front lawn of her house watching it burn with her parents inside, but there was no way for Kenshin to know that. All he knew was she was trapped somewhere inside of herself. Somewhere very painful.  
  
"Kaoru?" He spoke her name gently and raised a hand to tenderly wipe some of the wetness off her face. "Where are you, Tanuki? What can you see?"  
  
"My house..." She whispered in a faraway voice. "It is my house."  
  
"What about your house? What happened at your house?"  
  
"It burned up... The furnace exploded and it burned up."  
  
"Oh Honey, I'm so sorry."  
  
"They could not get out." Kenshin felt an uneasy shiver race up his back as she spoke those soft cryptic words. "They were stuck in the hallway and they could not get out."  
  
"Who, Baby? Who was stuck?" Even as he asked the question, Kenshin knew the answer.  
  
"Mother and Daddy. They burned to death in the fire. I... I watched it burn with them inside. I watched it burn."  
  
"Kaoru." With a feeling of extreme sadness Kenshin pulled her back against him and cradled her head beneath his chin while he started rocking her again. "I am sorry, Honey. I did not know your parents died in a fire, and I did not know you were there to see it either. I am so damn sorry."  
  
"It was my fault..." As she spoke those quiet meaningful words, Kenshin reared back in open mouthed wide-eyed shock.  
  
"What did you say?" He asked in a disbelieving voice.  
  
"It was my fault." She repeated as her body went limp with grief. "I was the one responsible for the fire. It was my fault the furnace exploded. It is my fault my parents are dead." Tears began to stream down her face as she raised empty dead pools of cobalt blue to look into Kenshin's stunned face. "I killed them."  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
There, chew on that for a few days. My Father-in-law is in the hospital so things might be running a bit slow over the next little while, but hang in there. I'm working on it.  
  
Next up will be the new chapter for Master of High Tower  
  
And then the new one for Beloved of The White Flame. A couple of weeks give or take. God Bless, and see ya soon.  
  
Please Review.  
  
Tsuki-san 


	8. Fires of The Past

A/N: This is sort of a short chapter, but it was an extremely necessary one. I cried when I wrote this chapter because it explores some of the deeper meanings of pain and personal accountability. What does it mean to be accountable? And where do we draw the line when it comes to guilt and accountability? The line between accountability and acceptance of 'come what may'/ fate and karma is nearly as fine if not finer that the line between love and hate. It brings to mind the old adage . . . "Be careful what you wish for . . . you just might get it." - Kanzen Ne Tsuki   
  
Haruko: This is a short chapter! -Phew- Didn't take me long to beta-read it, I must say, Lady Kanzen is getting better and better at this, very soon, she won't need me anymore. ^_^ I love this chapter, very necessary, but extremely heart-wrenching, especially since you already more or less know what's going to happen. It was very difficult for me to read it despite its short length because it tugged at something in me. Wonderful chapter!!! Read and review ok??  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
Fires of The Past  
  
November, 1999  
  
"Mum, I'm leaving for Jen's house, Ok?"  
  
"Not so fast, Young Lady." Ayame Kamiya sternly called her daughter back from her frivolous flight out the front door of their modest 2 story home. "You still have chores to finish... remember?"  
  
"Awwww, come on, Mum." Kaoru whined to her Mother's 'oh, no you don't, young lady' look, and rolled her eyes. "I've cleaned my room and the upstairs bathroom already. Isn't that good enough?"  
  
"No. I have been asking you to clean up that mess you and your friends left down in the basement for over a week now, and you keep saying you'll get to it. Well, today is the day you are going to 'get to it'." Ayame loved her daughter dearly, but she was simply the worlds worst procrastinator when it came to getting to projects she really did not want to do. And ever since she and her girlfriends had trashed the basement during their all-night 'sleep-over', Ayame had been dogging her to clean up the mess of dried soda, paper plates, napkins, and smunched potato chips along with other assorted crumbs and paraphernalia that had been strewned around the large single room.  
  
"But that will take hours, Mum." Kaoru protested as she angrily threw her bright pink backpack into one of the mauve colored chairs in her Mother's livingroom. "I promised Jen I'd be over there a half an hour ago."  
  
"Well, then I guess you've better call her and tell her you are going to be late, hadn't you? Because you are not stepping foot out of this house until that basement is cleaned."  
  
"Great..." Kaoru mumbled under her breath and stormed past her stubborn Mother. "Why does it have to be today and right now? Why can't it wait until tomorrow?"  
  
"Because, Tanuki, if I keep letting you put it off until 'tomorrow', I am going to have to open a mouse motel for all the little rodents that are showing up down there to more than happily eat the graciously discarded offerings you and your friends left for them."  
  
"Ewwwwwww, Mum... that's gross. What did you have to go an mention 'mice' for? You know I hate mice." Kaoru suspicisouly eyed the basement door as if it were an explosives depot, and then turned her large expressive blue eyes back to her Mother. "Do I really have to go  
  
down there?"  
  
"Take a broom. Not only can you sweep up the mess, but it will work well as a bludgeoning club for you unwanted little guests."  
  
"MUM!" Kaoru whailed loudly and ran for the bathroom. "You can't make me go down there... Daddy would never make me go down there."  
  
"Wanna bet?" The deep masculine voice of Ishida Kamiya sounded just beyond the doorway, and then his dark haired head was peaking around the edge. "You are going to go down there, I am going to make you go down there, and you will do exactly what you Mother told you to."  
  
"But, Da..."  
  
"No buts, Tanuki. You have put this off, and put it off until the smell down there is terrible. Now get up and stop fooling around. I know you aren't that grossed out by the thought of a few mice, your just stonewalling again."  
  
"But Daddy, I can't do the whole thing by myself. It will take me all day."  
  
"It had better not, Tanuki." He gave his hem-hawing teen a stern look. "If it takes you longer than two or three hours, then I will know your goofing off down there, and you will definitely be grounded for the whole weekend."  
  
"But Daddy..."  
  
"Enough 'buts' already!" Ishida had finally lost his patience completely with his 15 year old daughter who cowered beneath his flashing indigo eyes. "Move it!"  
  
Knowing she was totally out of options and leeway, Kaoru timidly scurried passed her angry parents and disappeared through the basement door closing it with a quiet 'click' behind her as she went. She had to walk clear into the center of the large room in order to grab the pull-chain that pulled on the 60-watt lightbulb which was the only source of illumination for the dim dungeon-like space.   
  
"Yuck." Looking around at the cluttered mess that greeted her disgruntled attitude, Kaoru felt the rise of teenage anger rise up from deep inside of her. "This could have waited until later." She huffed as she kicked several rumpled napkins aside and stomped on the already molding crumbs of long forgotten muffins of some sort. "I really wanted to go over to Jen's this afternoon... But, nooooooo, I have to clean this stupid basement or I get grounded. That is sooooo stupid. I hate the two of them when they get like this. I mean, what is the big flipping deal? So what if there is a little bit of crumbs and stuff on the floor? It's not like it's gonna start a fire or something. Geez, Parents are such a pain in the butt." As she continued to grumble about her parents, Kaoru started to clean up some of the garbage and toss it in the big plastic bucket her Father had so lovingly provided for her at some earlier point in the day.   
  
"It looks like they have been planning on ruining my day for some time." She muttered angrily as she dropped the last of the hand-held garbage into the bucket. "Wasn't that nice of them... thinking of me like that?" Thick sarcasm colored her tone as her pretty blue eyes narrowed into furious slits of rich indigo that closely resembled that of her Father's. "Sometimes I wish there weren't here so they'd just leave me alone so I could do whatever I wanted." A malicious little smile slowly curled across her mouth turning in into an unattractive snarl of sorts as she envisioned her life without her parents always breathing down her neck and telling her what to do. "Yeah, I wish they would just disappear and leave me alone." With that wickedly spoken half-truth, Kaoru turned and began sweeping the cold bare cement floor. All the while, the iciness of a cold stone of something she chose to ignore began to grow heavy within her heart, but it was small and easy to set aside so she did.   
  
As the pile of dust and debris grew, Kaoru realized she did not have a dust pan with her, and not wanting to go back up stairs to face anymore of her parents angry or snide remarks, she decided to improvise. Looking around the room, she spied a perfect place, and hurriedly swept the pile of dirt and dust-bunnies over the floor. Once reaching her destination, she quickly and deftly swept the pile out of sight and out of mind with several sharp vindictive strokes.  
  
"There," She announced to the room and whatever 'occupants' within who cared to be listening. "I am finished, and if they don't like it... Tough." Haughtily she strutted over to the closet and put the broom away, and then turned around to survey the room. "I think it looks pristine, if I say so myself, and it only took two hours. Let them chew on that."   
  
As she marched up the stairs, she was feeling exceptionally cocky and unrepentant about her attitude and the things she had said to herself. She had finished the unpleasant chore in record time, and there was not one thing either one of them could say about it.  
  
"I'm finished." She announced in a snippy voice to the two adults setting in the living room watching TV.  
  
"Of course you are, Koishii." Her Mother gave her a huge smile and stood up to give her an ever bigger hug. "I knew you could do it if you put your mind to it."  
  
"I... ahhh, what?" Kaoru stuttered and stared at her Mother in shock. This was not the reaction she had been expecting.  
  
"All you needed was a little shove, Tanuki, and I knew you'd get it done in no time. Here," Ayame handed her a plate covered with aluminum foil. "I made some cookies for you to take with you over to Jen's house. Oh, don't worry," She patted Kaoru's astonished face. "I called over there and told her Mom to tell her you'd be over in a bit when you were done with chores. So, everything is just fine. I even said you could spend the night... If you want to?"  
  
"Oh Mum," Kaoru was suddenly excited and contrite all at the same time. "I'm sorry I was such a brat, I really am." She threw her free arm around her Mother's neck and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Mum. Thanks."  
  
"Your welcome, Tanuki." Ayame hugged her tempermental daughter again, and then gave her a gentle shove toward the front door. "Go on now. You better hurry. Jen's Mom said they were going to Barbeque for dinner, and I know how much you love that."  
  
"Oh, WOW! Ok, I'll see you then. Thank's again Mom. Love you, bye." And she was out the front door like a flash.  
  
"Don't you just wish you had that much energy, Aymes?" Ishida looked up from the TV and smiled lovingly at his beautiful wife. "If you did, we wouldn't have to farm the kids out just to have a little bit of fun."  
  
"ISHIDA!" Ayame looked at him in mock horror, but her eyes were twinkling wickedly. "Shame on you, you terrible man."  
  
"Yeah, but you love me." He chuckled and reached out to try and slap her still shapely rear as she dove past him.  
  
"Yessss..." She squealed like a teenager as she barely managed to avoid his well aimed palm. "Yes, I do." Sherry color eyes twinkling with merry amusement locked with his just before she disappeared into the kitchen to start dinner. There was a promise in those beautiful eyes, a promise Ishida cherished more than life itself. A promise of a lifetime of love everlasting, and that was more precious to him than the air he breathed.  
  
It was the smell that woke him up first. It was like a suffocating blanket of fire burning in his lungs stealing his breath and making his eyes water until he could hardly see.  
  
GAS!  
  
'Oh Dear God!' His mind started racing in panic as the meaning of that word registered in his foggy brain. 'The house is filled with Gas... Ayame... Yahiko... THE WATER HEATER... THE FURNACE... OH MY GOD, THE PILOT LIGHTS!' Ishida tried to get out of bed but his legs buckled underneath him the moment he put his weight on them. The gas had already started to damage and slow his muscluar-nervous system as well as affecting his respiratory system. He could hardly move, but his mind was screaming in urgent ferocious panic that he had to get his family out of the house before the Gas caught. He had to get them out NOW. 'God!' He prayed as he drug himself along the floor to the other side of the bed he shared with his wife. 'Help me! Help me!"  
  
Ishida pulled himself up with the sheet and the edge of the mattress until he was looking into Ayame's face, she was barely breathing and looked frighteningly pale. Her face was covered with the wetness of tearing from her burning eyes, and he knew he had to somehow wake her up before she completely succumbed to the suffocating effects of the choking gas.   
  
"A- coughcough Ayame coughcough-cough A-ayame..." He patted her face and shook her shoulder as rough as he could with his rubbery muscles. "Saiai... coughcough wake-up coughcough A-ayame cough Ayame coughcough Ayame..." 'God! Oh God... Help.' "Sai- cough-saiai coughcoughcough wake up." Finally her eyelids fluttered and then opened.  
  
She was seized by a horrible fit of coughing that left bloody spittle on the pillowcase and on her lips. "I-ishida?" Her huge round eyes were filled with fear and confusion. "What coughcough is cough hap-pening?"  
  
"Gas." Was all he could say. "Have coughcough to get out coughcough."  
  
"Yah-hi coughcough..."  
  
"I'll get him."  
  
"No... I'm com- coughcoughcough..."  
  
"N-noooo coughcoughcough... get out... coughcough... get out. P-pilots... f-fire." He looked her full in the face and she could see the determination and fear on his face. "G-go... P-pl-cough-please." She finally nodded and tried to stand up, but found herself falling to the floor the same as Ishida. "C-crawl." He motioned for her to follow him and they painfully crawled through the semi-dark into the hallway. "Go..." He nudged her towards the stairs and they both managed to roll down the single flight without getting hurt. "Out... coughcoughcoughcough... side... coughcough... out-side cough Ayame, outside." They lay and looked at one another long and hard for the briefest instant sharing a lifetime of deepest love and devotion in that single look. And then Ishida turned and crawled toward their son's room.  
  
That was the last time Ishida and Ayame ever saw each other.   
  
She lost consciousness before making it all the way to the front door, and as Ishida Kamiya used the last of his strength and breath to throw his 11 year old son, Yahiko, from the open bedroom window, the heating mechanism in the gas furnace located in the basement clicked on and automatically lit the pilot light located in its base, thus lighting the heating element within. As this occurred, a deadly chain reaction was sent into motion. The lethal swirling pool of gas, that had been gradually collecting around the basement floor as a result of a partially opened valve next to the water heater, was instantaneously ignited into a living ball of flame which was sucked up into the vacuum of the aluminum heating ducts where the gas had also been gathering and slowly filling the house turning it into a waiting Roman Candle.  
  
As the fire ball seethed through the aluminum fuse, it took less than 3 seconds for it too find every open vent in the modest home, and then everything in the world that Ishida and Ayame Kamiya had worked their whole lives for had gone up in one massive ball of flames as the Gas in each room was ignited and the house exploded upon itself.  
  
Ishida and Ayame died instantly.  
  
Yahiko was blown 50 yards away and left to watch his parents die.  
  
The neighbors, awakened by the thunderous blast, poured from their homes in horror and someone called 911 even though there was no single possibility the couple could have survived the blast. The fire had to be contained. Someone was sent to find Kaoru.  
  
She had to be hospitalized for nearly two weeks because of severe hysteria and total nervous collapse. She kept repeating over and over that it was her fault her parents were dead, that she was responsible, that she had killed them, that is was an accident. No one could understand what she meant, no one could console or control her. Even counseling had not helped. She continued to blame herself for what had happened, although she never said a word to her younger brother, she knew it was her fault. Somehow, because of what she had said, she had made it come true. She had managed to kill her own parents.  
  
She remembered listening to the Police Arsonists Investigators talk after the fire was officially closed and the insurance company was finally willing to pay the life insurance on both her parents and on the house. They had been standing inside their office talking, and she had gone to thank them for doing such a good job and helping with the claims. They had never even seen her.  
  
"It was a very sad thing to find." The lead investigator had said. "But it appeared that somehow the gas valve on the water heater had been partially opened."  
  
"Opened?" The other investigator had sounded stunned at the prospect.  
  
"Yes, opened. Just a small turn, but it was enough to have let gas leak into that basement for the better part of the day and that night, so when the furnace kicked on and lit its pilot... boom. The whole thing went up like a torch. There was nothing anyone could have done. It is a wonder the Kamiya man woke up at all with the amount of gas that had to have been leaking through that house by the time things went up."  
  
"Those poor kids."  
  
"Yeah, real shame."  
  
"Hey, didn't I read in your report that there was a big pile of dirt or something around the water heater? Was that what I read?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. That was sort of strange. It didn't get blown away because the fireball went up the ducts, you know."  
  
"Yeah, weird."  
  
"Yeah. Anyway, the basement was fairly well untouched, and I did find this real neat-like pile of dirt and heavy dust underneath and behind that heater. Almost looked like it had been swept there."  
  
"Didn't look quite natural, huh?"  
  
"Nope, not quite."  
  
"Could have been swept like you said. You know kids."  
  
"Yeah, I know kids. Gotta couple of my own at home, but the problem with this is that if this was something that just happened... well, a bump of a broom could very easily have jarred that valve and opened the gas leak."  
  
"Oh man, you have got to be shitting me?"  
  
"Nope. I wish I was."  
  
"You telling me that everything that little girl has been saying could very well be true?"  
  
"Yup, but I'm not gonna put that in my report. Would you?"  
  
"Hell no. It would scar that kid for the rest of her life if she knew that she really could be responsible. Geez."  
  
"Tell me about it."   
  
She had quietly left without anyone noticing her, and then took a bus over to the park where she had sat looking at the iced over pond for hours and hours until she could not see anymore.  
  
"I killed them." She said to herself in a small cold voice that left a hole of desolation the size of the moon inside of her soul. "I wished they would go away and leave me alone... and they have." Tears were flooding down her thin pale cheeks as her heart turned to stone and her soul froze itself into a sarcophagus ice. "I can never forgive myself for this, never." And she had remained looking at the dismal frozen world of winter until her worried Foster parents came looking for her with a terrified Yahiko in tow.   
  
That was the day Kaoru Kamiya lost her sparkle, lost her smile, lost her laugh, and lost her desire to ever be noticed by anyone again.  
  
That was the day she wished she could be invisible. It worked once. Why should it not work again? She had wished that her parents would go... Why should she not be able to wish herself gone as well?  
  
Pity, it never did work.  
  
  
  
God Bless my little Tanuki-chan. She has delved into the world of Karma vs Accountability. Sometimes in order to go forward in life, in order to learn and grow, in order to progress and become more than we are we must experience great pain and even greater trials.  
  
To be baptized by the Flames of Hell and live is to be a Survivor. To learn, and step forward onto life's battlefield's with courage, a beating heart, and living soul is to be a Teacher.  
  
May we all have the strength to survive, learn from our pain and grief, and progress on to share what we have learn with lose who still lie suffering on the battlefields around us. But may we never become so arrogant that we forget we are all still children in this world, and only God can heal all wounds. Faith is the key to finding the pathway out of the dark into the light, and there is always enough to be shared with someone else. Just like a warm blanket. Share what you know with those you are in need. Life is too short to be lost and alone.  
  
Kanzen Ne Tsuki 


	9. Digging In The Garbage

A/N: Ahhhh....I sort of got carried away with this chapter...it got funny in so many different spots, and I was having so much fun writing it.... well, it got kinda long. O-O Hope everyone enjoys it though. I thought I would give everyone a break from the heavy/dark world... but it's only a break.  
  
Nigihayami Haruko: This is probably one of my favourite chapters, such a joy to read and beta-read. I'm sure all of you would love it too. Don't forget to review later on!  
  
Kenshin Kodora Himura: Kodora=Small Tiger,  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Digging In The Garbage October 31, 2001. Tuesday Halloween Day, 1000 a.m.  
  
"It's a juvenile police report, Mrs. Anderson, and as the resident Commissioned School Master of Ive Payne High School where Kenshin Himura happens to be a student, I have every legal right to request a copy of it to have inside of his permanent file history. Especially considering that this institution is being considered the place of his incarceration. Now, I do not, in way, believe that I am making an outlandish or unreasonable request, and as you are employed by this educational institution as one of its higher paid staff, as well as being MY personal assistant, I am fairly certain that the procurement of said document or documents comes well under your direct line of job duties. Therefore, as I believe I am not mistaken in any of these assumptions, since I was the one responsible for writing your bloody job description last year, I would be more than grateful if you would get up off your fat doughnut laden ass and GET THIS DONE FOR ME TODAY SINCE I GAVE YOU THE REQUEST NEARLY A WEEK AGO AND SHOULD HAVE ALREADY HAD THE SAID DOCUMENT OR DOCUMENTS ON MY GODDAMN DESK YESTERDAY!"  
  
"Yes-yes Sir, M-master S-saitou... I-I will g-g-get right on it." And suddenly Saitoh was treated to an unusual and almost grotesquely comical scene. The more than ample frame of one Mrs. Ellsa Anderson trying to extract herself from her own work station without spilling her 6 creams and 7 sugars large coffee as she eased her oblong butt out of her chair by wiggled it from side to side an inch at a time. Once she was finally free, she turned around, frantically grabbed up her coat, announced in a shrill squeaky voice that she was off to the County Court Office to see if they could help expedite the request, and then trotted at high speed down the hallway on her 4 inch heels looking much like a bright yellow, red, and white beach ball as she bounced feverishly on her way to try and rectify her obvious mistake.  
  
"Dear Lord," Saitou moaned in agitation as he rubbed a hand across his disbelieving eyes and muttered under his breath. "May the Angels of Saint Mary save us all." Then he turned and walked back into his office slamming the door sharply behind him. The phone on his desk started to ring before he had quite made it back to his chair so he made a quick spin around the corner of his desk and scooped up the receiver.  
  
"School Master Saitou, how can I help you?"  
  
"Ahhh, yes, Master Saitou, this is Hiko Seijurou. I just received your letter in my mail this morning."  
  
"I see." Saitou sat down and began to idly fiddle with the frayed corner of Kenshin's file where it sat on his desk. It seemed to have become a permanent fixture the last week. "And have you read it through, Mr. Seijurou? Have you had time to consider my request?"  
  
"Yes, I have," Was the haughty retort from the other end of the telephone. "And I must admit that I find your request to be... unusual if not a bit... Unorthodox and poorly planned out."  
  
"Unorthodox?" Saitou tried desperately to keep the irritation out of his voice as he responded to the strict single-minded man who was Kenshin Himura's step-father. "Perhaps you would care to explain why you perceive having Kenshin's younger brother coming up here so they could finish their Senior year of High School together as unorthodox and ill-perceived? I am afraid I do not follow your line of thinking on the matter. On the contrary, as close as the boys are to each other emotionally, I should think it would be a grand idea. What do you find to be so unappetizing about it?"  
  
"Well, I would think it would be quite obvious, Master Saitoh." Hiko was sounding more and more like a businessman than a concerned father. "Soujiro is a Senior here at Westmore High School, and should graduate with his friends and colleagues with whom he has spent the last 3 years of his life with. It is ludicrous to even suggest transferring him to Ive Payne at this point simply to try and make Kenshin more comfortable."  
  
"Ahhh, I see. That is the whole point, isn't it Mr. Seijruou? Making Kenshin comfortable."  
"Excuse me?" The voice on the other end of the line was becoming increasingly irritated as the conversation progressed. "Just exactly what are you implying Master? That I am not concerned about the wefare of both of my son's?"  
  
"Are you, Mr. Seijuro?" Saitou was losing his patience and his respect for this man quite swiftly and in fairly equal amounts. "I think that it is not that you don't approve of Soujiro's transfer, it is that you do not want to be bothered with Kenshin or what might be best for him at this critical point in his life. Is that not more closer to the truth, Sir?"  
  
"That is outrageous." The other man blustered angrily in response to Saitou's challenge making him smile with a secret amount of self satisfaction. Unless he was mistaken, he had hit the target dead center with this self-centered egotist, and now the man was trying desperately to back-peddle to preserve his reputation as the vigilant father. "I am trying to think of what is best for both of them. I have always tried to do what was best for Kenshin, despite his ungrateful attitude. You know how difficult he can be to deal with, you said it yourself over the last 3 years. The boy can be insufferable, and I do not want him to be a bad influence on Soujiro. I must try and do what is right for them both, and I do not believe that Soujiro would want to leave his friends and his School behind in his Senior year."  
  
"Have you asked Soujiro what he wants to, or have you kept the letter and its contents to yourself?"  
  
"Of course I have kept it to myself. He does not need to be burdened with a decision such as this."  
  
"Why not? He is almost 18 the same as Kenshin. Is he not old enough to start making some of his own choices, or is it that your are afraid he might actually want to come up here and be with his brother?"  
  
"I do not think I like the sound of what you seem to be insinuating, Master Saitou."  
  
"Really, you have no idea how much that upsets me, Mr. Seijurou."  
  
"Are you trying to cause difficulties between us over this matter, Head Master? Because if you are, I assure you that I can come up there to the school and remove my son from your custody and have you relieved of your position as School Master on the grounds of interfering in my personal family business."  
  
"I do not think so, Mr. Seijurou. In case you have not noticed lately, I have full legal custody of your son which means you cannot do a single thing with him or about him until after he graduates, and then, only if the courts feel the home environment is going to be conducive to his continued rehabilitation. and I have serious reservations about that. So," His voice was taking on the tone of a deep growl as his temper flared. "Do not threaten me unless you are prepared to have your entire household put under a fucking microscope by state ordered social services sent to determine if your fit to resume custody of your son."  
  
"You would not dare."  
  
"Wouldn't I?" Saitou's fingers began drumming an agitated rhythm on top of the dark blue folder as his topaz eyes narrowed dangerously. "I wonder what the authorities would have to say when your daughter told them she has not set eyes on her oldest brother since the day he was sent here, and that the only contacts she is allowed with him are the hand drawn pictures the two of them trade through the mail?"  
  
"There are reasons that you couldn't possibly understand that we have chosen to keep Cleo away from her brother until he comes home." Hiko was starting to sound decidedly nervous now.  
  
"Really? I can only imagine what they must be especially when the number one rehabilitation factor in every troubled teens life is the love, support, and unconditional acceptance of his or her ENTIRE family. Tell me, Mr. Seijurou," He seethed into the telephone as his hand balled up into a fist. "How would the Courts view the fact that you and your wife have never come to one of your son's yearly evaluations? And what would they have to say about the frequency or, rather, the INFREQUENCY of your familial visits here at the school?"  
  
"There are. r-reasons Master Saitou. Important reasons for our a- absences. I."  
  
"Oh please, do not insult my intelligence or my Honor any longer, Mr. Seijurou. I have heard and seen quite enough of your so-called 'reasons' to last me the rest of my life and Kenshin's as well. If there is a drop of truthfulness left in your veins, I challenge you to ask Soujiro what he wants to do with his Senior year of High School, and then call me back. If you have the Honor to do so." With that furiously stated remark, Saitou dropped the receiver into its cradle with an angry 'clack', and then proceeded to pull Kenshin's file over to him.  
  
Flipping it open in frustrated agitation, he looked deeply into the fierce violet eyes that stared out from the school photo and wondered what it was about this boy that caused such ferocious emotions in the people around him. "Everyone except his Father." He muttered to himself as he started to absently tap the picture with his forefinger. "I am beginning to wonder, my Young and quite possibly misunderstood and insolent-friend, if that man has ever cared about how you felt or what you thought a day in your life?" The uneasy feeling he had been getting about this whole situation was gradually working itself into a large, uncomfortable knot that was starting to gnaw at the School Master's vitals.  
  
"Why is he so against helping you?" He asked the photo just before he closed the file and set it back on the desk. "What is he holding against you, Small Tiger? What have you done that was so unforgivable that he would throw you to the wolves and then leave you to basically rot for four years among strangers in a foreign Country?"  
  
Saitou twisted around in his swivel chair until he could look out the window behind his desk. It had started to snow in the last hour, and he let his eyes follow some of the large lazy flakes as they floated gracefully to the ground and then immediately melted. The clouds were that soft water- color gray that promised snowfall for the whole day and most likely long into the night. It was going to be another cold, wet Halloween.  
  
A short chuckle escaped him as he remembered a Halloween from several years ago when it had snowed like this. Quii had been about 10 years old then, and she had spent the entire day wavering between hope and despair as the storm had relentlessly continued without showing any signs of slowing or stopping.  
  
She was dressing up as and evil fairy princess that year, and had decided on a particularly wicked witch type of a costume with particularly ugly make-up to go with it in hopes to scare everyone she and her friends met while out scoping the neighborhood. She had informed Tokio that 'All the snotty girls were being pretty fairies', and she did not want to look like any of them. So she wanted to be ugly and scary just so she could be mean to them and it would be ok, but the snow was not cooperating with her plans, and if it did not stop soon, she would have to cover up her costume with her coat when they went out trick-or-treating. She had been furious all night, and he had not been able to stop himself from laughing at the sour faces she kept making. 'Life is such a big deal when you are young.' He thought to himself as he leaned back in his chair and covered his eyes with one of his hands.  
  
"Halloween." He muttered in a mocking voice. "Bah! Humbug."  
  
"You better change that to Bah-hum-batwing or something else more appropriate to the occasion, School Master-san, or they will laugh you right out of your office."  
  
"Saints be praised," He swivelled around with a droll smile on his face. "You mean there is actually a way for me to get out of this hell hole? Why wasn't I told about this before?"  
  
"Hajime..." Tokio giggled attractively as she rounded the corner of her husband's desk and leaned down to give him a soft kiss. "Where's your ghoulish spirit, Koishii? You are positively dour looking." She perched herself upon the corner of his desk and looked very intently into his thin face. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Am I that transparent?"  
  
"Only to me."  
  
"Great."  
  
"Hey, it could be worse."  
  
"It could?" He looked at her from beneath his thick gray-black eyelashes. "How?"  
  
"Everybody could know you were human instead of just me." She raised her eyebrows at him emphasizing her point, and he groaned covering his eyes again.  
  
"Oh God, not that... please, not that. It's bad enough that you know. I couldn't stand it if everyone knew."  
  
"All right then, stop belly-aching like a little boy and tell me what's eating you?"  
  
"How do you know something's eating me? And don't tell me it's because you know me." He growled into her knowing face. "You came down to my office for a specific reason." His topaz eyes narrowed at her for a moment, and then he growled again, deep in his throat. "I get it." He gritted out. "Ellsa."  
  
"Yes, Ellsa." Tokio's dark brown eyes twinkled with amusement. "What on earth did you do to that poor woman to get her into such a frazzle? She nearly crushed 6 students in the hall on her way out of the building a little while ago."  
  
"Really?" A shadow of dark humor crossed his face. "I almost wish I could have seen that."  
  
"HAJIME!"  
  
"Ok, ok, ok.." He flinched under her glare of mock disapproval. "All right, look... I asked her to get me the police report in Kenshin's juvie file from Denton nearly a week ago, and she has put it off for so long, she totally forgot about. I guess I sort of blew up at her this morning."  
  
"Sort of blew up at her?" Tokio looked at him suspiciously. "Just exactly WHAT did you say to her when you blew up at her?"  
  
"Ummmm... well..."  
  
"Spit it out Master Saitou. What did you say?"  
  
"Oh hell." Saitou threw his hands up in the air in frustrated defeat and then started rifling through the drawers of his desk looking for his cigarettes. "I told her to get up off her fat dough-nut ass and get it done for me today."  
  
"Aaakk... Hajime! You didn't.... did you?" Tokio's face was lost somewhere between horror, incredulity, and the verge of hilarity.  
  
"Yes, I did." He cast a furtive look up at her face and saw her battling with herself not to burst into laughter, and his own lips began to twitch unconsciously. That was the end of Tokio's control.  
  
They both burst into laughter.  
  
Poor Ellsa.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ivy Payne High School Early dismissal for the Holiday (Evermore takes Halloween very seriously) School Gymnasium: 1:23 p.m. Preparations for the Halloween Dance  
  
Every year it was the responsibility of the Senior class to decorate the Gymnasium for the Halloween dance. This year was no different except that there had been quite a few of the Junior's drafted' into helping. Several of them were off of the basketball team, for obvious reasons. Being tall had it's drawbacks when it came to being hunted down to help hang decorations, especially when it came to draping that cotton, fuzzy spider webbing stuff from one end of the Gym to the other while trying to attach it to every basketball hoop, light, screw, nail, and whatever else the 'Side-Walk-Superintendent' could find for them to attach it too.  
  
The 'Side-Walk-Superintendent' was the One person who had been chosen to officially be 'In Charge' of the dance decorations, and it had been a hands-down landslide vote when nominations were made. Megumi Takani had taken more than 80% of the school votes and she was not even a Senior yet. She had earned the nickname 'Side-Walk-Superintendent' because she had proved herself to be better at telling people what to do than actually helping anyone do anything. When it came to the practical end of decorating, Megumi was hopeless. She was afraid of heights, so the ladder was out of the question. She was constantly griping about either breaking a nail or getting her clothes dirty, so stapling, pining, and taping were also out of the question because it involved digging through boxes and boxes of old decorations etc, and she just was NOT going to do that. Besides, there could be mice, and she could not stand mice.  
  
"They carry diseases, you know." She had quipped in her own self defense when the others had given her the usual 'You have got to be kidding me,' looks before humphing at her and turning around to do it themselves. It was easier than arguing with her.  
  
She did have a good eye for decorating though, and the Gym was really starting to come together and looking very cool and 'Halloween-ish' as Mrs. Gensai, the History teacher, has said when she had poked her head in for a look. Kaoru and Misao had just looked at each other and smiled through their dirt smudged faces and offered the older woman polite 'Thank-you's'. They were both still a little bit pissed off about being stuck doing this anyway. They were both Juniors like Megumi, but because they were her 'bestest friends', she had coerced them both into helping her do this. The only good thing about it was the guys. Both Kenshin and Aoshi were stuck in the Gym helping with decorations the same as they were, but they were stuck doing it because they were Seniors. But what was truly sad, was poor Sano. Now that he and Megumi had officially decided that they were officially going out, she was ordering him around like he was her personal slave, and the poor boy looked like he was just about frazzled to the bone.  
  
"Come on, Sanosuke..." Megumi stuck her head out of one of the big double doors that opened off the Gym into the main hallway of the school, and craning her neck around the corner, she scowled in irritation at the young man stumbling down that same hallway as he tried to juggle several boxes filled with crape paper and cardboard skeletons among other assorted junk and faded wall hangings. "Hurry up, will you? You've got ladder duty on the East wall"  
"I'm trying to, Kitsune... but-t these boxes are kinda... awkward ya know."  
  
"Oh come on... don't give me that, there's only a couple of them." She pouted prettily as he reached her and struggled through the door she was holding open for him. "You're just not wanting to help me anymore. That's all it is, isn't it?"  
  
"Huh? What?" He turned around with an incredulous look on his tired and dusty face, and as he did, he became tangled up in his own feet and went tumbling to the floor in a flurry of black and orange streamers and flying cardboard skeleton arms and legs... besides his own long and lanky extremities. "Huurooomph!.... Ahhhh dammit!" He swore as he landed hard with his rear end on the old wood floor.  
  
"SANO!" Megumi shouted in anxiety and concern as she raced to his side and quickly knelt down to see if he was all right. "Are you Ok? I'm so sorry, Honey... did you hurt yourself? Did you break anything, Baby? Can you move? Is anything broken?" She was trying to bend his arms and his legs while he was trying to untangle himself from the paraphernalia that entrapped him, and he was becoming more frustrated by the moment as it seemed the harder he tried the more confined he became.  
  
"I'M FINE!" He finally shouted when her 'ministrations' started causing more difficulties with him getting free than they were helping. "Stop, Ok... Just stop helping me for a minute will ya... Lemme' get out of this stuff for pete's sake. Shit!" Megumi immediately scooted back away from his struggling form wearing a damaged looked on her face and then stood up, her bottom lip trembling.  
  
"You're just a great big stupid jerk." She snapped in a tight voice. "I was just trying to see if you'd broken anything or if you were hurt or... Oh crap, who cares anyway, you're just a big insensitive, selfish moron anyway." Then she turned and started to stomp away leaving Sano with his mouth hanging open wondering what in the hell was going on with her, but when she stopped and swung back to face him, he knew he was in real trouble. Her pretty face was scrunched up into a tight mask of hurt anger and there were tears brimming in her furious brown eyes.  
  
"Uh-oh," He muttered under his breath. "I'm a dead man."  
  
"You know..." She swayed suggestively over to him and bent down until she was almost looking him right in the eye, "I think maybe it's too bad you DIDN'T get hurt after the way you just treated me, you slimy snake." And with that she pulled her foot back and kicked him sharply in the butt which sent him howling in pain and put a smile of vindication on Megumi's otherwise sad and dejected face as she walked away leaving Sano moaning in abject agony.  
  
"Hmmmm..." Misao looked at Kaoru, who was still looking pale since their ordeal at the Lighthouse a couple of nights ago, but otherwise Ok. "Do you think he'll be dancing tonight?"  
  
"With HER?" Kaoru asked back with a touch of laughter in her voice.  
  
"With ANYBODY." Was Misao's sarcastic response, and the two of them busted up into giggles as they tried to imagine the poor rooster trying to limp around the dance floor with a bruised derriere.  
  
"I guess we'll all just have to wait and find out, won't we?" Came the dour baritone-tenor reply that brought both of them spinning around from the large pumpkin they were trying to get to stay taped to the wall to see who had caught them catching a bit of fun at their friends expense. Kenshin was leaning lazily on the long handle of the push broom he had been using to help stretch spider webbing a few moments earlier, and was nonchalantly giving the two embarrassed girls one of his rare mischievous smiles causing both of them to start and stutter just a little as they acknowledged his presence.  
  
"Kenshin!" Kaoru squeaked in a flustered voice. "I... W-we didn't hear you c-come up."  
  
"So I gathered." The smile on his face widened and two feminine hearts skipped a beat. "That was a rather unkind remark you made about the poor ole' rooster-boy, Miss Misao." He chided in a teasing voice as dark violet eyes filled with mirth settled on the flushed face of the Weasel Girl.  
  
"Well, what do you think after that 'ass kicking' the kitsune just gave him?" Misao arched her shapely black eyebrows at him in question and retaliation for sneaking up on them like he had. "Do YOU think he's gonna be up to 'bumpin and grindin' anything or anybody after that?"  
  
Kenshin tossed his head back and started to laugh at Misao's descriptive remark bringing surprised looks from many of the other students in his direction as they gawked at the usually somber and aloof red-headed Senior letting loose with an honest show of spontaneity, and as he laughed, shock rolled through the room like a wave rolls across the ocean. There was not one of them who could hardly believe it. It was not everyday one was allowed to see Kenshin Himura do anything other than wear that absent blank look of his that told everyone to 'stay the hell away from me, I bite,' which he always wore, let alone laugh or even crack a smile. This was shocking to say the very least.  
  
'Go ahead, let them look. The stupid creeps.' Kaoru thought acidly as she watched the looks of shock and astonishment that passed between the students in the Gym as they shared their stunned bewilderment over Kenshin's show of emotion. As the exchange of words and finger pointing started, she felt the beginning of a tight little ball of fury forming in the pit of her stomach and her lips thinned in response.  
  
'Go on and look you stupid Moron's!' Suddenly Kaoru wanted to scream at them for being so blind to him and so cruel in their judgements of him. What did they know? Nothing. Not one of them had ever tried to get to know him. Not one had ever tried to take the risk and peak behind the frozen mask on his face. hey were all just a bunch of stupid mice that lived in the dark too afraid to come out because they heard there was a cat on the prowl. 'Stupid mice,' She thought with a vicious click of her teeth as her jaw tightened. 'There is no cat, he's just as frightened of you as you are of him... you're just too damn stupid to see it. So how dare you judge him...you don't know him....you don't know anything about him, so go ahead and look you stupid fucking mice. Stare until your eyes pop out of your stupid heads. You are all blind anyway... you could never understand a person like him... you're all too damn shallow to understand anyone as complex and beautiful as Kenshin.' As the thoughts stormed through her mind, Kaoru was too preoccupied to notice when Kenshin stopped laughing and started watching her as she glared malevolently at the other students. Finally, when her eyes began to take on a feral gleam, he decided it was time to find out what was going on inside of her pretty head.  
  
"Hey, Honey?" He asked quietly as he put two fingers beneath the rigidness of her chin and gently turned her head until he locked gazes with her. "What are you doing? It looks like you're about ready to pounce on somebody and inflict serious bodily harm here. What's going on with you? What are you doing?" He asked again.  
  
"Watching them... watch you." She replied in a low furious voice as she felt the glittering anger reflected in her bright sapphire eyes began vibrating across an invisible energy stream that was suddenly connecting the two of them, and Kaoru watched in amazement as it began to dance and gleam like a thousand diamond chips inside the clear violet crystals that were reaching out and pulling her into the comfort of their tender gaze. She was captured.  
  
"I can see that, Honey," Now that he had Kaoru's attention, Kenshin could feel the uncustomary anger draining out of her, and he breathed an unconscious sigh of relief as he continued. "What I meant before was... WHY are you watching them? And what are you so pissed off at them about?"  
  
As he looked intently into Kaoru's large blue eyes, Kenshin absent mindedly handed Misao the broom he was holding so he could use his that hand to cup Kaoru's cheek, and then, just like that, the now stunned and totally bewildered girl standing beside them, as well as the janitorial implement, were completely forgotten.  
  
For a moment Misao was hurt that she had been shut out of the conversation just that fast, but then she pursed her lips in a knowing smirk and made a silent exit as her two friends became completely immersed within one another. She decided to go find Aoshi. He ought to be in here somewhere and was no doubt in need of 'some sort' of help. She started pushing the broom along the floor as an excuse to make her way around the entire Gym in her covert search for the tall, graceful green-eyes Senior.  
  
"I... I was watching them watch you." Kaoru's voice dropped to a lower tenor as one of her hands came up to trail finger tips along his right cheek. "They were all watching you laugh like you were some kind of a freak or something. It made me angry... it was cruel."  
  
"Well...to them, I am some kind of a freak or something, Tanuki." Kenshin leaned into her and rubbed his forehead against hers while he dropped the hand from her chin to slip in around her waist and gently pull her closer. "And I should imagine that seeing me laughing would be quite a spectacle for them. They are more used to me being the stand-offish type that bites when I get cornered... or something like that."  
  
"But that is exactly what made me so mad, Kenshin." Her hand slid down the right side of his throat, over the curve of his shoulder, and then behind his upper arm so it could grip the hard muscular bulge of his triceps as they flexed beneath her soft touch. "They don't know you... they have no right to judge you or any of the things you do. It just isn't right, that's all." She was tentatively stepping closer to him as her other hand lifted and settled comfortably around his shoulders on the left side.  
  
"Don't let it bother you, Honey." He said softly as the hand cupping her cheek carefully slipped along the curve of her jaw until it was beneath the weight of her hair gently massaging the sensitive nape of her neck. "I stopped looking and listening to them a long time ago, and I want you to do the same, all right? It does not matter to me what they say or think. It really doesn't."  
  
"But..."  
  
"No, there are no 'buts'." Kenshin cut her off a bit sharply as he pulled back and looked down into her face with glittering firmness in his eyes. "If I listened to everything everyone said about me at this school, and let it get to me... shit, I'd probably never come out of my room." Kaoru lowered her eyes for a moment and let her hands come in across his shoulders to rub the hard muscles of his chest. As she did that, she heard him catch his breath on a tiny gasp, and the flesh beneath her hands flexed hard for a half a second. Inwardly she was smiling with pure feminine pleasure. He liked her touch.  
  
"That's funny, you know." She said as she looked back up at him through the thickness of her eyelashes and a sly smile on her full lips.  
  
"Why?" He asked as he narrowed his eyes warily and let his hand slid from her nape to the center of her back where he splayed out his fingers to strengthen his embrace around her.  
  
"Because," she shrugged and offered a shy giggle that suddenly had him worried. "I just can't picture you hiding in your room like a scared little mouse. It just looks all wrong up in my head."  
  
"What do you mean, it looks wrong in your head?" He was wearing that boyish half-smile that made her stomach do somersaults, and Kaoru found herself trying to catch her breath and nervously batting her eyelashes. She wished he would not do that when she was trying to talk. It was just to hard to concentrate when he looked at her like that.  
  
"Well," she began in a voice filled with giggles. "I'm trying to picture how you would be if you were a scared kid... and I keep coming up with this nerdy-type picture of you with oily, stringy hair half hanging out of your ponytail, round glasses that are all smudged up with tape wrapped around one of the temples cause their broken, high-water pants, argyle socks, hush-puppy shoes, polo shirts, and a sweat-gland problem."  
  
"Oh my God..." Kenshin buried his face in the curve of Kaoru's neck and burst into uncontrolled laughter earning them both more gawking looks from the students in the Gym.  
  
"See what I mean?" She said to the ear that was next to her cheek. "It just doesn't fit... does it?" At that last little jibe at his reputation, she began laughing with him half because of the tickling vibrations he was making on her skin with his mouth, and half because it was an awfully funny picture.  
  
"Honey..." He choked against her throat. "That is just plain cruel. How could you do that to me?"  
  
"I didn't mean it for real." The giggles just would not stop now that she had gotten started. But Kenshin liked her like this. This was the first time he had ever really heard her laugh and it was making him feel really good. Hell, who was he kidding... It was making him feel free, and that was an feeling he did not think he knew how to feel anymore. Kenshin's arms tightened around her as he unconsciously pulled her closer in an effort to soak up the positive energy that was growing and flowing between their souls, and to his surprise, Kaoru tightened her grip on him as well. It almost felt to him like she was holding on afraid if she let go it would all go away or something. Well, she might be in for quite a surprise if he had anything to do with it because he did not want it to go away.  
  
"Hey," He whispered slyly into her ear. "Come here for a minute."  
  
"Where?" She asked with big blue eyes searching his face in puzzlement.  
  
"Just trust me... come on." And he took her by the hand leading her along the wall until they disappeared under the bleachers. In a moment Kenshin had opened a door that Kaoru had never noticed was there before, he silently ducked inside pulling her in behind him, and then quietly closed the door just before he turned on the light.  
  
It was a small storage closet with shelves on one wall filled with floor cleaners, wood polishers, wax, clothes and other things that would be used exclusively for the care of the hard wood floor in the Gym. There was enough room for the two people to stand and move around inside, but that was all. It was a very small space.  
  
"What are we doing in here, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked him in a squeaky breathless voice as she felt his hands slide easily around her waist and gently pull her closer to him. She could feel the thundering beat of his heart beneath her slightly trembling palms, as she instinctively laid her hands on the hard flat muscles of his chest.  
  
"Nothing, Kao." Kenshin's voice was husky as he leaned into her and rubbed his cheek against hers in a rough feline-like caress that made her whole body tremble violently in response. "I just wanted to kiss you without everybody watching... and I didn't feel like waiting until later." Flaming golden crystals opened and gazed deeply into her innocent rounded sapphires as the warmth of his right hand lifted and traced the outline of her quivering lips bringing a startled gasp of pleasure and confusion from them. "Is that all right with you, Tanuki? Can I kiss you?" He asked in that same husky voice and it sent shivers of gooseflesh across her arms and down her back as her heart began racing frantically inside her chest. "I won't... if you don't want me too." Kenshin backed away and waited for permission or rejection without even realizing he was holding his breath. Maybe this had not been such a good idea. Maybe it was still too soon. Maybe she did not want him too... But that was a whole different problem...  
  
"I want you to... Kenshin... I want you to..." Kaoru's voice was barely an audible whisper when she was finally able to speak past the wildly beating heart lodged in her throat, but as the heated moistness of her breath passed over his fingers, a low moan of relief escaped Kenshin's mouth as it parted and he pressed his lips into the sweet heaven of hers.  
  
Kenshin had not kissed Kaoru since the night they had all gone to the Lighthouse. It was not that he had not wanted to. He had wanted to. He DID want to. It just had not seemed the right thing to do after everything that had happened that night especially after she had confided in him everything about the night her parents had died. He had just been trying to be there for her since then. Just being her 'boyfriend'. Being the guy who hangs around and to give her somebody to lean on if she wants, and all that. Wasn't that the kind of things boyfriends were supposed to do for their girlfriends? He wanted to be the kind of guy she deserved to have, and that seemed to be a good place to try and start. So he had not tried to push anything or do anything. He had just been there for her.  
He had held her that night and let her cry for nearly 3 hours, and they had both nearly gotten caught for him being in her room, but he had managed to get out the window before Old Man Gensai had made it to her room for his 7:00 a.m. rounds that morning. Then he had almost bought the farm getting back to his own room in the boys dorm before Mr. Yukishiro did the same. It had been a tight squeeze getting past the sharp eyes and keen hearing of the rat-faced English teacher, who was also Tomoe's father. Poor Tomoe.  
  
Since that night, things between the two of them had gotten... well, interesting. They had spent most of the next day together just setting down by the stream talking... talking about everything. He still could not believe it, but he had told her all about his family, his brother, his baby sister, and the bullshit that went down the night he and his 'friends' went their separate ways. He told her how his parents had just dumped him into the hands of the Cops and the Courts, how they never tried to find out from his what had happened, and how they never seemed to care what happened to him after that. She had sat beside him and listened... for hours it seemed... just listened, and did not say a word until he was finished, and then she had rolled over onto her knees and put her arms around him and hugged him really hard. It had shocked him so badly that he had just set there doing nothing for almost a full minute before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him than he had ever held anybody, and they had stayed like that, just holding onto each other for the longest time. Kissing her had not even crossed his mind at that point, he had just wanted to hold onto her afraid that if he let go of her she would disappear and he would find out it had all been just a really bad joke on him, and that she had never been real at all and he was still totally alone. But, when they had finally let go of each other, nobody disappeared and she had laid her head on his shoulder and said something to him that still burned in his mind and heart.  
  
"I am so glad I came here, Kenshin. I didn't want to, you know. I hated the idea of having to move all the way to Main from Oregon, but Yahiko and I did not have a choice. Dr. Gensai was who the courts chose from the list of possible Guardian's that our parents left. We were floundering in the School's back home... I guess it was just too close to... well, to everything. he house, the cemetery... everything."  
  
And then she had looked back up into his face with those huge beautiful blue eyes of hers and smiled for the first time since he had met her. It was a real smile, not one of those half pasted on things that get you by when you know you have to be polite, but a real, honest smile that lit up her whole face. It was the most glorious thing Kenshin had ever seen, and it had taken his breath away, but the words that came with the smile would be engraved on his heart forever.  
  
"Maybe God sent me here, Kenshin. Maybe God sent me here so I could help you and you could help me...maybe we're supposed to help each other." She had leaned up into him and tenderly kissed his cheek and then looked at him again. "I do know one thing for sure though."  
  
"What is that?" He had asked in a quiet voice as his hand had reached out to touch her face.  
  
"Meeting you is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"Because you're the best friend I ever had... and you always will be."  
  
"So are you..." He had whispered back and then grasped both of her hands and buried his face in them. "So are you, Tanuki...so are you."  
  
But then he had looked back up at her with wide questioning eyes. "Is that all we are going to be, Kaoru? Just friends?"  
  
"Is that all you want us to be, Kenshin?" She had asked back with a worried look on her face.  
  
"I-I...what do you want us to be?"  
  
"That isn't fair." She had tried to pull her hands away, but he had refused to let them go.  
  
"Why isn't it? Don't you think I am just as vulnerable as you are in this?"  
  
"I guess that depends," Sapphires filled with deep anxiety and some other emotion he could not name were suddenly staring very intently at his face.  
  
"Depends on what?" Nervous butterflies were starting to make him feel a bit nauseous as he found himself in a position of extreme worry and fear that he had never thought to experience.  
  
"On whether or not we want the same thing... if we don't, one of us gets hurt." She dropped her head and looked at their conjoined hands and the silence between them stretched out until it became unbearable for Kenshin.  
  
"All right, I can't take this..." His voice was small and even a little shaky and Kaoru looked at him with shock and concern on her face not sure how to react to his out-of-character behavior.  
  
"What is wrong, Kenshin? What do you mean you can't take this?"  
  
"I can't take the silence between us, and the waiting to see which one of us is going to give in first. We are both obviously too damn stubborn and too scared to do it... so, one of us is just going to have to jump off the cliff and take the chance."  
  
"Jump off the cliff?" Kaoru's eyes got even rounder (if that were possible).  
  
"Yes...one of us has to take the chance and tell the other what we want out of this relationship...if it is 'just best friends', or if...if 'it's more than just friends', and... and..." He stopped and pulled in a ragged breath while he readjusted his grip on her hands, and then he closed his eyes for a long moment and became very still. Kaoru watched him in concern wondering what he was doing, but, not daring to disturb him at that moment, she just sat and waited to see what would happen.  
  
Suddenly his eyes opened and he had looked her straight in the face, drew a single deep breath, and then spoke in an even and clear toned voice.  
  
"I want you to be my girlfriend, Kaoru. I don't want us to be 'just friends...' I want it to be more than that. I want to be able to do more than just hug you... I want to be able to hold you in my arms, and cuddle you close, and... and I want to kiss you... all over someday if you'll let me. But even if you don't, I want to be the one whose kisses make your heart beat faster; I want to be the one whose touches make you catch your breath and tremble; I want to be the one you come to when your hurt or afraid or lonely... or when you need a friend to talk to or... or just need someone to hold you just because you need it."  
  
His eyes were searching her face anxiously as he spoke, and his hands were unconsciously squeezing hers tighter as he looked for any sign of acceptance from her. But all she was doing was staring at him with a stunned blank look on her face, and Kenshin had felt his heart sinking down into the darkness of loneliness once more. He had dropped his eyes as a muscle had started to twitch in his jaw and a lump started to form in his throat. Pain, he had thought. Here comes the pain, but it had never happened because in the next moment Kaoru was tackling him to the ground as she threw herself at him in an enormous bear hug that sent them both rolling and laughing down the embankment as she had cried 'Yesyesyesyesyes' over and over again in wild joyous giggles. He had wanted to kiss her then, but his hopes and wants had been miserably dashed when they had both ended up in the freezing water instead.  
  
Hysterical screams and loud laughter had followed the unexpected dousing, and they had struggled to help each other up and out of the stream but found it a more difficult task than they imagined. Due to the slippery moss covering the stones that lined the stream bed combined with their uncontrolled mirth, the two of them kept losing their footing and ending right back where they started... flat on their cold, wet butts.  
  
Once they got out, got into clean dry clothes, they had spent the rest of the day in the commissary drinking hot tea and setting by the fireplace trying to stay warm. The question of 'boyfriend and girlfriend' had not come up again. It appeared to be a mute point.  
  
After that was when she had started teasing him and laughing, and he had starting calling her Kao and smiling more often. They had spent nearly every possible waking moment together as well. He walked her to classes, they ate together in the commissary, and they even did their homework together and watched television. The rumors were starting to fly that they were a couple, and... well...after all, weren't they?  
  
Now, a couple of days later, and both of them feeling a little more comfortable with each other, Kenshin had quietly pulled Kaoru into the tiny custodial closet that was hidden beneath the bleachers. Maybe 3 people in the entire school knew it was there.  
  
The Custodian.  
  
Master Saitou.  
  
And Kenshin Himura, who used to use it as a private hide out to get away from everyone when he was tired of being bothered with too many things by too many people. It was his private out of the way haven, and no one ever went inside except during basketball season, and AFTER dances. So, he knew there was no way anyone was going to walk in on them. They were perfectly alone, and he finally had the chance to do what he had been aching to do since they had fallen into the stream... really kiss her.  
  
At first it was just lips on lips, but as the passion and heat between them grew, and the kisses became wetter and longer Kenshin and Kaoru both began to look for something that was a little more satisfying.  
  
His hands left her waist and rose to cup her face holding it immobile, and as the weight of his body pushed her back against the wall behind them, the tentative thrust of his tongue pressed against the barrier of her partially closed mouth and teeth asking a question which she passionately answered by fisting both of her hands into the thick mane of his dark red hair and opening the moistness of her lips to let him in.  
  
As Kenshin listened to the tiny whimpering cries of burgeoning sexual awareness echo deep within Kaoru's slender throat, he slipped the hard strength of his tongue deep into her open mouth and pressed the firmness of his hips and thighs against the softness of hers. He felt her yield and mold herself into him as she accepted the pressure of him against her, and taking his left hand, he ran it down along the length of her thigh until he reached her knee, and then he deliberately lifted it up until he could drape her leg over his hip. This allowed him to press himself more intimately against her which brought an even more desperate cry of need from deep within her as she pushed herself against the hardness of him that she could feel digging into her lower stomach.  
  
Dragging his mouth away from hers, he burned a trail of moist kisses down the side of her throat as his free hand rose to cup and tenderly massage her breast. This action caused a violent shudder to course through her body, and he felt her weight buckle in his arms as she cried his name out in a ragged voice.  
  
"Kenn-nshhin... ooooOoooo God..."  
  
"Kao..." Her name was a hoarse whisper torn from his throat as his arms swiftly encircled her to keep her from falling to the floor. "Oh Baby... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to go that far." Gently he pulled her quacking body closely against him and cradled her head in the curve of his shoulder. "You went straight to my head," He murmured in a shaky voice as he rested his cheek against her forehead. "I promise all I intended to do was just kiss you, Honey... I swear it was."  
  
"I-I believe y-you..." She maneuvered herself slightly so she could slide her arms around his neck and pull him close to her. "It's Ok...It's not like I didn't get carried away right along with you, Sweetie."  
  
"Are you sure?" Anxiety was clearly an issue as he tightened his arms around her. "I don't want this to turn into a trust issue. I really didn't..."  
  
"STOP!" The tone was low and sharp as she gave him a little shake before pressing a soft reassuring kiss against the warmth of his neck. "Don't even go there, Mister Kenshin Himura, do you hear me?" Kaoru pulled back from him and locked gazes with his now deeply troubled violet eyes. "I swear, if you let yourself get all guilty and uptight over this... I'll... I'll never kiss you again."  
  
"Excuse me?" One fine dark brown eyebrow arched arrogantly at her audacity and unmitigated gall to threaten HIM. (He loved it.) "WHAT did you say?"  
  
"You heard me, Mr. Tough Guy. I said, I'll never kiss you again if you get all weird on me over this dumb thing." And as she stared him defiantly in the face, Kaoru saucily tossed her head back sending all of her long ebony hair cascading down her back and falling across his arms. "And IF you don't like that, bad boy... deal with it."  
  
"You're spouting some pretty big talk for such a little girl... little girl." Violet eyes darkened to a deep purple as they narrowed into dangerous slits, and Kaoru felt a little shiver of a wariness snake up her spine as she met that predatory gaze he was raking her with.  
  
"So, what are you going to do about it?" She quipped flippantly.  
  
"Is that a challenge, Miss Kamiya?" The voice was close to a growl and Kaoru shivered with frightened delight. She had never seen Kenshin quite like this... this was fun.  
  
"Possibly... what if it is?"  
  
"Never, never make idle challenges, little tanuki... unless you are prepared to meet the consequences." The wicked being that was Kenshin leaned back into her and very slowly and deliberately began to burrow its nose through her thick black hair until it found the creamy soft flesh of her throat.  
  
"What sort of c-conse-quences, Mister Himura?" Her voice was breathless and one of her hands was working its way into the mane of his hair as he worked his way into her throat.  
  
"Dangerous ones..." He growled and then suddenly seized her around the waist and began to tickle her mercilessly. As her high-pitched squeals of panicked laughter began to fill the small closet space, Kenshin dove in and captured her mouth with his effectively silencing her cries for him to stop. The tickling frenzy continued for a few more seconds until Kenshin decided he was more interested in Kaoru's mouth that he was in her systematic torture for being such a mouthy brat.  
  
As his hands began lazily rubbing her sides instead of abusing them, Kaoru relaxed against him and opened her mouth letting him gently slid his tongue inside to stroke it along the top and sides of hers. A long sigh of pleasurable comfort escaped her as she once more wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed the soft curves of her body against the harder planes of his.  
  
With the initial needs and passions somewhat satisfied by the heat of the first kiss, and the reassurance of trust and mutual caring reestablished, the two teens succumbed to the simple pleasures of lips, tongues, and tender caressing hands as they stood comfortably within each others loving embraces. This time when Kenshin's hand rose to touch the softness of Kaoru's breast, it was a feathery brush of his palm across the rounded flesh instead of the full hand grasp of before, but it still brought a pleasurable whimper to her lips and a tremble of desire to her body. And when Kaoru's instincts led her to press the lower half of her body against the hardness of his, she basked in the glory of feeling a very similar tremor of desire and pleasure course through his much stronger frame. It would appear he was not any more immune to her than she was to him.  
  
After a time of working on her beautiful lips, Kenshin finally pulled away from her and rested his forehead against hers and waited while their breathing steadied again. Slowly he raised a hand and tenderly began to trace the curve of her face as her eyes closed in the pleasure of simply soaking up the feeling of his touch on her skin.  
  
"You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life, Kao." He spoke in a strangely reverent tone that brought her eyes open to search out his and finding them looking at her so tenderly that she felt the burn of tears coming to her eyes.  
  
"Ken... What?" She touched his face gently and he turned so he could kiss her finger tips. Kaoru watched him and a wonderment she had never known filled her heart and glowed from her eyes and face. He was so beautiful, this socially complicated, emotionally complex red-haired angel- wolf she... loved? Is that what this was? This humongous, enormous feeling that she had when she looked at him now? Was this what loving someone felt like? Was this how her parents had felt about each other? This part playful child, part dangerous predator, part soulful philosopher, part hungry beast, part passionate lover... was all of this Love? It felt right, the word with the feeling, but it was frightening to think about it right now. Too soon... too fast... too much... Could it happen that fast? And if it did, could it last forever? Or even a lifetime?  
  
Tender emotion filled violet pools looked into her face and Kaoru felt her world go to mush as Kenshin pulled her back into his arms and just held her close against him. Was this Love? It felt so good to be this close to him... to held by him this way, with all of this emotion and energy around them, but... was this Love?  
  
"Kenshin, Sweetheart... Are you all right?" Kaoru gently stroked the long silken length of his hair as a fine tremor ran through his body. "Baby?" She was beginning to worry when he did not answer, but just continued to hold on to him as that seemed to be what he wanted. After a few long silent moments, he finally spoke to her in a voice muffled by her hair and shoulder.  
  
"I am all right, Kao." She turned her head slightly so she could hear him better as he continued. "It is just... I... I..." He paused for a few seconds and then pulled back from her and looked into her concerned face. Kaoru gasped softly at what she saw.  
  
There were tears on Kenshin's face, and more brimming in his beautiful amethyst eyes. Tenderly she lifted a hand and wiped some of the wetness away, but said nothing... she just waited for him to continue.  
  
"It is so hard for me... you know that."  
  
She nodded slightly and gently cupped his face as she maintained eye contact with him. "I... I do not understand what is happening to me... I... feel... I don't know what I feel, but... Oh Kao," His trembling hands rose to cup her face and more tears poured down his. "Honey... it's so BIG."  
  
"I understand, Sweetheart," she whispered back as she leaned into him and pressed a teary kiss into his lips. She did not even know when she had begun to cry, but her face was just as wet as his was.  
  
"Do you?" Anxious pools of violet searched the comforting warmth of dark blue cobalt. "How can you understand?"  
  
"Because, you big goof..." Her smile was more brilliant than any starburst had ever been. "This THING I feel for you is BIG too, and I don't know how its happening either... it is just there, and that is all I know." A watery half smile curved his handsome mouth, and the anxiety in his eyes was replaced by something much more bright and cheerful as he soaked up the fact that she was just as confused as he was... felt just as stupid about it... and was just as happy about it as well... and she was not pulling away from him either. In fact, she was pulling him back into her for another wet kiss which he was more than happy to give to her.  
  
Life did not get much better than that.  
  
Kenshin decided at that moment that salty kisses were just about better than any of the others he had ever tried. They had a lot more impact on the whole relationship scheme of things than any of the others had... so, they were probably going to be the one's he remembered the most from that day he and Kaoru made out in the Custodian's closet before the Halloween Dance.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I love this story... I think it has turned into my own favorite... it seems to be everyone elses as well.  
  
I realize I have asked this before on my other fiction, and on my webpage, but it is such an important issue to me, that I am going to ask again. Please, please my dear friends... go to either the K & K archives on my webpage or to my Favorite Stories on my Fanfiction.net Author's page and read the story, 'Being Held in Your Arms' by Female Hitokiri Battosai. I has been written in honor and tribute to her friend, Lisa, whose mother is dying of cancer and cannot be saved. This is one of the worst things I can imagine for a teen to go through, Female Hitokiri Battousai has written this exceptional piece of art in an attempt to help her friend deal with the loss. I only ask that you read and leave a review with you sympathetic wishes and prayers for her friends family. This is one of the most beautiful and selfless gestures I have ever seen... and one of the most heart-felt and magnificent works of emotional script I have ever read. Please help her help her friend, and help me help her to know that she is worth more to this world than just someone who writes fanfiction. Please do this with me... I know there are more people than myself who have enjoyed and benefitted from this beautiful girls gifted writing. Help me Help her Help her Friend. Thank you. Much Love, and God Bless Kanzen Ne Tsuki 


	10. Angels Have Blue Eyes

A/N: Please forgive the lateness, don't believe Haruko… it was not her fault. I have been having a difficult time the last month. It is still the same litany, and I am sure you are all tired of hearing it. Perhaps things will start to change now. My Father-in-law has finally succumbed to his cancer and passed away as of 4:00 a.m. yesterday morning here in my home (March 1, 2004). I am exhausted and depressed beyond human description. I promised myself I would not talk about my health to any of you anymore. That is not why you are there. I have a house to clean because I have much company from out of state expected before the weekend, and there are so many other arrangements we have to make and other things to do. It is mind boggling. So, I do not know if there will be any other updates on my fictions this week or next for that matter. I don't feel much like writing at this time. The new chapter for 'End of A Weary Day' is about 1/3 done. I will try and work on it.   
  
If you all would… If anyone is interested… I 'had' decided to hold a contest on my website (prior) to this recent 'incident' in my life. The contest is for Kenshin and Kaoru FanArt Kissing Pics. I have been searching the web for pics like this and there just don't seem to be any out there. I have found 2 or 3 and that is all. I would like to have this contest and build a one of a kind KenKao Kissing Gallery. Also there are First, Second, and Third place prizes (of a sort) to be won. If anyone is interested, go to my webpage and check out the rules of entry on my Updates and Information page. You can access 'Heart of The Flaming Sword' from my FF.net Authors page  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~K.N.T.   
  
Haruko: I'm sorry this took such a long time, blame it on me. I was having a hard time beta-reading because of some technical glitches, but I beg you to review this. Tsuki-san has really outdone herself this time, and has successfully made me cry, I'd guarantee you'd find yourself moved by this as well. Do review!  
  
  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
Angel's Have Blue Eyes  
  
October 31, 2001. Tuesday  
  
Halloween Day, 5:00 p.m.  
  
4 hours before the dance  
  
School Master Saitou's Office  
  
The telephone was ringing as Saitou opened the door to his office and he rushed over to the desk grabbing the receiver mid-ring as he flopped down in his chair. 'De-ja-vu,' He thought as his mind flew back to earlier that morning when he had entered his office to a ringing phone, and the individual on the other end had been that insolent ass step-father of ...  
  
"Master Saitou, can I help you?"  
  
"Hiko Seijurou here, Master Saitou."  
  
'Oh God, not again.' "Yes, Sir..." The business tone in his voice was purely habitual. 'Twice in one day, how did I get so lucky?' His stomach began roiling with the nauseating thought of having to talk to the insufferably arrogant man more than once in the same 24-hour period. 'How did you get so lucky?' The sarcastic voice of his hind-brain sneered unpleasantly into his mental ears as he shut his eyes in dismay. 'You got lucky, you fucking Idiot, because you told him to call you back with an answer... Oh yeah,' Mental eyes rolled in exasperation. 'I guess I sort of forgot about that... shit!'   
  
"So, have you reconsidered my proposal about Soujiro coming to school here with his brother this year?" Saitou mentally began preparing himself for the insolent, rude retort that would no doubt follow his inquiry, but instead, he found himself agape in astonished relief and surprised horror with his mouth hanging open in his lap as Hell once more began to freeze despite its blazing brimstone infernos.   
  
  
  
"Yes, I have," Replied the sharp insistent voice of the other man as his disembodied voice cracked over the static of the telephone connection. "And, after a great deal of thought on the matter, I have decided to agree to it."  
  
"You have? Why, that is absolutely Grand News!" 'I can't believe he had the balls to agree after only one conversation.' Saitou's silver brows furrowed in suspicious thought as he wondered at the man's sudden acquiescence to his proposal when he had been so against it just that morning.   
  
"Yes, yes... Quite so I am sure. That is precisely why I have also decided to bring my ENTIRE family to Evermore for a long past-due visit... Today."  
  
"Today?" Saitou sat straight up in his chair his usually narrow topaz eyes growing round  
  
with alarm. "Did I just hear you say, 'Today?'"  
  
"Of course." This was the smug sounding reply when Hiko heard the thread of anxiety that tinged the School Master's voice as he responded to the news of their pending arrival. "After our conversation this morning, I decided to put everyone into the car and make the trip to Evermore today. I could see no pertinent reason that we should wait to make the transfer; today seemed to be just as proper a time as any other. I do hope this sudden notice is not too short for you to arrange a room for Soujiro. He is quite excited about the whole matter."  
  
"No, no of course not, I do not foresee any difficulties with his immediate placement once  
  
you arrive."  
  
"Good. We should be inside the school parking lot within approximately 30 minutes. ." Hiko cleared his throat a little nervously before he continued. "It... it... appears you were right about his wanting to graduate with his brother more than wanting to stay with his friends, Master Saitou."  
  
"Indeed." Was all the response Saitou could manage at that precise moment of time. He was still trying to gather his screaming thoughts as they raced frantically around inside his head crying out warnings and setting off alarms. 'The Seijurou's are coming...! The Seijurou's are coming...!', they all shouted hysterically at the same time creating a cacophony of noise that was difficult to form a single rational thought. Giving his head a hard shake, Saitou forced himself to gain control over his temporarily chaotic brain and tried to find semblance of intelligence. "I am quite sure it is a good decision for both of the boys, Mr. Seijirou, and will no doubt be beneficial to both of them in the years to come. And as for finding Soujiro a room, I may be able to juggle a few things around so that he can room with Kenshin... would that be satisfactory to you, Sir?"  
  
"That would be magnificent if you could. I am sure both of the boys would be grateful to you if you could work that out, or at least put them close enough to each other that they could socialize easily."  
  
"I will do my best, Mr. Seijurou, that I will." 'Holy shit!! They are really coming.'  
  
"Well, then I will be seeing you shortly, and we will discuss Soujiro's transfer from Westmore."  
  
"Yes, of course."  
  
"Oh, and Master... It would be a great boost to ALL of us if Kenshin were there when we arrived. His Mother would very much like to see him."  
  
"Yes, yes or course... I will see if I can find him and have him here by the time you arrive."  
  
"Find him? Where would he be that you would have to look for him?"  
  
"It is Halloween, Mr. Seigurou. The Senior Class is responsible for all of the decorating for the dance, and as Kenshin is a Senior... well, I am sure he has been drafted and is up to his eyes in pumpkins and black cats by now, but I will make every effort to have him here."  
  
"Thank-you. It would mean a lot to his Mother if you could."  
  
"Of course." Saitou hung up the receiver with a trembling hand and then used it to wipe the sweat off his forehead. 'How in the bloody hell did I get myself into this TODAY?' He wondered in bewilderment. 'That frigging moron... He's doing this just to avoid that threat I made about having Social Services come out to his home to evaluate whether or not it's a good environment for Kenshin to go back to or not. He doesn't really give a shit about that kid... just about his fucking image. I wish I could bury my foot so deep up his...'  
  
"Hajime? Honey? Are you all right?" The soft soothing voice of his wife worked its way through his cloud of dismay, and Saitou opened topaz eyes filled with angry disgust. The look of concern on Tokio's face changed to one of worried curiosity as she approached him and cupped his face so she could better judge what was going on inside of his complicated mind. "What happened? What are you so upset?"  
  
"You won't bloody believe me, Baby." He snorted and opened his top drawer grabbing his cigarettes, and pulling one free quickly lit it and took a long drag. Now Tokio knew something was really wrong. Saitou never pulled that hard on a cigarette unless he was really pissed off. She waited patiently for him to exhale knowing that he was trying to gather his thoughts as well as his control before he started talking to her. "Guess whose coming to dinner?"  
  
Tokio raised a delicate chest-nut colored eyebrow as she acknowledged his sarcastic quip, and then, pursing her lips with wifely tolerance, she drew in a long sigh and looked at him expectantly.   
  
"Hiko Seijurou is coming with his whole fam-damily and will be here inside of the next 30 minutes to drop off Soujiro as per my request that he transfer for the emotional and psychological benefit of his brother."  
  
"Good Lord!" She gasped in stunned surprised as her eyes widened in shock. "Are you telling me he took your threats this morning THAT seriously?"  
  
"I guess so... You know how that tight-assed piece of work is about his 'reputation'. I guess he didn't like the idea of my sending Social Services in to evaluate his 'home life'."  
  
"Oh my... that means we need to find a room really fast doesn't it?"  
  
"Well... do you think we can move the Beaucannon kid out of Kenshin's room so we can put Soujiro in there instead? How hard would that be?"  
  
"Hmmmm.... I suppose I could move Peter in with Billy Jenkins. I think there is an empty bed in his room, and they would be fairly well suited to each other... much more so than Billy and Soujiro."  
  
"Make it happen, Tokio, and send someone to find Kenshin. His Mother wants him here when they arrive."  
  
"Hmmmm, that's unusual. I wonder what's gotten into her?"  
  
"Maybe a little motherly concern?"  
  
"Right. I sincerely doubt it. She has not seemed to be concerned about him for the last three years, why should she start now?" Tokio humphed her way out the office door closing in quietly behind her and leaving Saitou to his troubled thoughts.  
  
"Why indeed?" Narrow topaz eyes glared suspiciously out of the window behind his desk as he tried to fathom what sort of game the Seijurou's were playing with him... and their sons.  
  
*****************  
  
  
  
Kenshin and Kaoru had successfully snuck back out of the janitorial closet without anyone seeing them, and they were busy trying to hang little glowing ghosts from strings that were hanging down from the ceiling. But it seemed they were doing more laughing than hanging. Kaoru was standing near the top of a huge step ladder being the one to reach up and hook the little decorative pale green ornaments on the flimsy strings while Kenshin steadied her legs from below, but it had proved harder than it looked because of the heating vents.   
  
The hot air rising throughout the Gym was causing the thin strings to whip and fly out of her reach which in turn was making her lean and tip dangerously on the tall ladder. Each time one of the ladder's feet tipped up off the floor and then dropped back down with a solid 'thunk' jarring the two of them, they would be suffused with surprised, fearful laughter that began to border on the hysterical where Kaoru was concerned. They had successfully hung 6 ghosts out of the 30 inside of the box and time was ticking away. 24 left to go... Gosh, that was a lot, and they did not seem to be making very much progress toward completing the task anytime soon.  
  
This was how Tokio found them after sending Mrs. Gensai to help Peter Beaucannon pack and move out of Kenshin's room so Soujiro could move in, and she just stood for a couple of minutes enjoying the show they were putting on because it was profoundly unusual to catch or even see either of these two students crack a smile let alone laugh, and they were laughing like a couple of hyena's playing out on the open plains of the Seringeti without a care in the world.  
  
It was one of the rarest and most extraordinary sites she had ever seen, and she could not help but to laugh with them a little too as it brought a feeling of warmth to her worried heart. They looked good together too, she thought. They looked like they fit with each other too, and that gave her a small sense of comfort as well..  
  
"Hey, you two!" She called to the two howling teenagers occupying the stepladder, and when she finally got their attention, she motioned for them to come down. "I need you both down here with me for a minute, please."   
  
It only took a few seconds for them to comply, and then they were standing next to her both breathing heavily from laughing so hard for so long. "You guys Ok?" She asked with a teasing smile, and watched as they looked at each other trying to smother any further laughter while they nodded.  
  
"Yes, Coach Takagi." Kaoru dipped her chin down toward her chest as her cheeks flushed a bright pink. "We were just having a little trouble hanging those stupid glowy ghost-things."  
  
"Glowy ghost-things?" Tokio's face creased in confusion and she looked at Kenshin for an explanation.  
  
"You know," He shrugged with a mischievous boyish smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "The Ghosts that Mrs. Gensai bought last year... the one's that glow in the dark and go 'Boo' whenever you bump into them or touch them... or breath on them. The ones Master Saitou said if he heard one more 'Boo' out of them, he was going to get his double barrel... and no more ghosties?"  
  
"Oooooh... I remember..." Tokio began to chuckle as she covered her mouth with one hand remembering how irritated Saitou had become at last years dance with the neverending 'Boo's' from those equally irritating little ghosts. "Is THAT why you are trying to hang them from the ceiling?"  
  
"Yes Ma'am, that it is." Kenshin stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and nodded then shuffled his feet as his gaze shifted to the silent Kaoru. "It was Kao's idea though, so do not blame me about them being way up there where you will never hear 'Boo' one out of them."  
  
"Kenshin!" The dark-haired girls head snapped up as she gapped at him in outraged astonishment. "It was not my idea... it was Megumi's... why did you..." An embarrassed smile crossed her pretty face as she realized he was just teasing her, and in retaliation she reached out and 'whacked' him hard on the shoulder sending him stumbling several paces. "You rotten rat! Don't do that to me... Eewwwwww, I can't believe how rotten you are." It was obvious she was upset, but her voice was so full of laughter it was hard to say how much, and Kenshin looked completely unrepentant as he stood up and spread his hands innocently while fixing a blank look on his face.  
  
"What did I say?" He asked with feigned wide eyed density. "I'm innocent as a baby, that I am." And with another screech of rage, Kaoru pounced on him and proceeded to pound him ferociously on the back. All he did was laugh and dump her off onto the floor. "And DOWN goes the Takuni." He sang as Kaoru 'thumped' harmlessly onto her shapely butt with a muffled squeak of surprise.  
  
"All right you two," Tokio laughed as she tried to gain their attention once more. "I really need you to come over here and listen to me for a minute. There is something extremely important that I need to tell you Kenshin."  
  
"Tell ME?" Large amethyst eyes suddenly filled with suspicion as he locked gazes with the older woman and slowly approached her like a mouse circling a sleeping cat. "Tell me what?"   
  
Kaoru immediately felt the defensive stiffness that shifted through him, and she quickly reached out and put a gentle hand on his upper arm just to show him she was there if he needed her, and as she did, 'felt' an answering tingle of energy dance beneath her sensitive fingertips. He knew she was there and was accepting her presence gratefully.  
  
"Well, I suppose I should tell you everything that has happened, so why don't you come with me out into the hallway where we won't be sharing this conversation with everyone, Ok?"  
  
"All right..." The tone was agreeable, but Tokio sensed more was coming and it did not take long before Kenshin proved her instinct to be right. "I will come with you, and we can talk... but, Kaoru is coming with us." It was a statement made in his usual 'I don't really care what you have to say about it' tone, but instead of feeling insulted or disrespected, Tokio looked at his wanting to bring his 'girlfriend' with him as a positive action on his part. This young man had never allowed himself to become attached to anyone in the three years he had been incarcerated at Ive Payne, let alone have a girlfriend that anyone knew of, and seeing for herself that all of the rumors about him and the Kamiya girl seemed to be true, Tokio let an inward Motherly smile warm her heart. She was happy that Kenshin had finally found someone to care about, and that he seemed to be allowing her to care about him as well.  
  
"That is fine, Kenshin. I don't have a problem with her coming. So, if that is what you want, you can bring Kaoru with you."  
  
"It is what I want." Nodding his red head sharply, he reached back and took Kaoru by the hand, and then stiffly preceded Tokio into the nearly deserted hallway. As he stopped, Kenshin turned and faced the woman with a blank yet stern face, his eyes having turned a pale violet and steadily met her serious brown gaze. "So, Coach Takagi, what is this all about? What is so extremely important that you have to tell me in private quarters? Have I broken some minuscule rule or something? Am I in trouble? Did I fail to show up at some unwarranted detention I conveniently forgot about?" All defense systems were up and running despite the fact that Kenshin was usually very open and friendly with the Girl's Coach slash History Teacher, but this was a completely different set of circumstances. She had cornered him with a request for his undivided attention with the premise of needing to disclose important information, and to Kenshin, that meant bad news. He hated bad news because it usually meant trouble for him, and trouble always walked hand in hand with pain.   
  
Tokio sighed in consternation. She had not counted on this reaction from the moody teenager, but berated herself for not being prepared for it. 'I should have known he would perceive this sort of a situation as an attack from the enemy. IF I were him, I know I probably would. I guess I will just have to handle this as benignly as I possibly can so he doesn't blow up in my face.' Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her suddenly nervous stomach, Tokio looked the stone faced young man in the eye and decided to start from the beginning.  
  
  
  
"Kenshin, this morning Master Saitou received a phone call from your Father..."  
  
  
  
"You mean my STEP Father." The voice was cold and stony as Kenshin referred to the man who had raised him from a child of 7. 'There is no love lost here,' She thought sadly as she watched the faint golden tinge appear in the pale violet eyes.  
  
  
  
"Yes, of course, your step-father." Tokio politely amended in light of his reaction to the other honorific. "He called the school this morning and spoke to Master Saitou."   
  
"Why did he call?" Suspicion rose Kenshin's hackles at the back of his neck while his muscles stiffened even more as a mental image of his step-father flashed before him.  
  
"Master Saitou had written him a letter a week or more ago asking him if he would consider allowing your brother, Soujiro, transfer here from Westmore so that the two of you could spend your Senior year of High School together and Graduate together as well."  
  
  
  
"H-he did that? Master Saitou did that?" Kenshin stammered a little bit over the question as he considered the enormity of the gesture Master Saitou had made on his behalf in asking a man like Hiko Seijurou to relinquish his hold on a beloved son in order to benefit a detestable son. "Why would he do that, Coach Takagi?" Violet eyes now filled with bewilderment and uncertainty looked into Tokio's face searching her dark brown eyes for an answer to the Master's strange behavior.  
  
"Because, Kenshin, Master Saitou thought it would be good for you to have someone who was close to you here during your last year of school. He was hoping, if your step-father would agree, that it might be helpful in aiding you to readjust back into your home environment so it would not be such a shock once Graduation was over. He also felt that having your brother here was the best choice available because he knows how close the two of you are to each other despite your step-father's efforts to keep you apart. Moreoever, having someone who was close to you... who truly cared about you could have a positive impact on your personal self-image."  
  
Tokio reached out a comforting hand and cupped Kenshin's face so she could look directly into his stunned vulnerable eyes. "He wants you to be happy, Kenshin, but he also wants you to be in the place that is going to be the best for you... even if that place is NOT your home."  
  
"Not my home? But if I didn't go home, where would I go?" A frantic flash of fear washed across his face for a split instant and then was gone as it was swiftly replaced by his protective outer shell of blandness and indifference. "I suppose it would not matter where I went, would it? As long as I did not cause trouble, right?"  
  
  
  
"NO!" Tokio grabbed his shoulder and shook him hard. "That is NOT right. BOTH Master Saitou and I only want what is best for YOU. We want you to be happy, Kenshin, but we also want you to be safe, secure, and at peace. We want you to be somewhere where you know you are loved and wanted... and if that place is not in your own home... then we will find you a place where it is."  
  
"Kenshin," Kaoru's gentle voice and the slightest increase in the pressure of her hand squeezing his seemed to break through his tough outer defense system somewhat as he turned and looked at her with wide searching eyes. "It sounds like the Master is just trying to look out for you, Honey. Don't go getting all pissed off and uptight until you see what is going to happen... Ok? Please? Don't ruin this for your brother... or yourself."  
  
"Soujiro..." The name fell from his mouth in a stunned tone as he shook is head in disbelief. "I cannot believe the old man is actually letting him come... I really cannot" Tugging on Kaoru's hand, he pulled her closer to him and wrapped a slightly trembling arm around her slender shoulders. "Will you come with me?" He asked quietly as he looked into her face questioningly. "I-I do not think I can do this alone... that I do not."  
  
"Yes, of course I will, Sweetie. You should know that." And she wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders and held him tightly against the strength of her heart and the emotions that flowed from it. "I will be right there with you, I promise... No matter what happens, I will be right beside you."  
  
"Thanks." The mumbled reply was almost lost within the thickness of her hair as he pressed his heated face into the comfort of her neck and squeezed her hard against his chest. "I think I'm almost afraid, Kao." He whispered for her ears only. "I hate them for that, I really do."  
  
"I know, Baby. It is Ok," She whispered back just for him. "I know what it means to be scared and not really know why. I know, and it's Ok." Pulling back slightly, she met his troubled amethyst eyes and gently touched his face with one of her hands. "I won't let them hurt you anymore, Kenshin... I swear I won't." A delicate shudder slid through his body and he leaned his forehead against hers for a long moment, and then he pressed the softest kiss she had ever experienced against her cheek before pulling back and facing a stunned Tokio again.  
  
"All right." His voice was much stronger, and he appeared much more in control of himself that he had been a few moments ago. "I suppose I have put this off as long as I can, and there is no use putting it off any longer. The inevitable has arrived and I must face it, that I must." He drew in a deep breath and motioned for Tokio to lead the way as he reached down and took Kaoru's hand again. "It is time to face my family, Coach Takagi... I am grateful to you... and Kaoru that I do not have to do it alone this time."  
  
Tokio smiled gently at the stoic young man standing before as she began to truly understand why her husband had decided something about his arrest and convictions just were not right. There was a pride and an honor about this boy that was tangible and putting him in the category of 'The Bad Kid' that everyone was trying to stuff him into just was not fitting anymore. She was beginning to wonder at his innocence or lack thereof, as well, and if the incident had not just presented itself at the opportune moment for his parents to relieve themselves of his troubled presence. It was not a very pleasant thought to consider, but it bore merit for discussion with Hajime later on.  
  
"I am pleased to help you with this, Kenshin, and I apologize that in the past you had to face them alone. I guess Hajime and I never truly understood how awful it really was for you with them... until now."  
  
"What do you mean, 'until now'?"  
  
"Your step-father was quite reluctant to let your brother come until the Master began pointing out to him all of the inadequacies of familial support that have been documented in your file, and even went so far as to ask him how he would feel if he had Social Services come to the home to evaluate whether or not the environment would be conducive to your continued rehabilitation... or not."  
  
A wicked smile curved Kenshin's lips as a twinkle of dark humor winked in his violet eyes. "HE really said THAT to the old man?"  
  
"Yes, he did."  
  
"Oh, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall just to have seen his face when he swallowed his eyeballs over that one. I will bet he was dancing backwards for the Master after that, wasn't he?"  
  
"Pretty much... The general consensus seemed to be that he really did not want to have anyone come to his home for any reason... especially when the Master mentioned the fact that he and your Mother had not allowed you to see your little sister since you came here."  
  
A sad looked passed over Kenshin's face as he thought about the sweet little red-haired blue eyed angel he had not seen for so long. "She probably will not even know me anymore..."  
  
"Well, I guess you will get to find that out today, Kenshin."  
  
"Huh... What?" His eyes rounded into two huge dark purple pools of astonished confusion as he looked into the older woman's gently smiling face.  
  
"That is right, Kenshin. Your step-father is bringing the WHOLE family... even Cleo, unless I am mistaken, so you'll get to find out just what she remembers."  
  
"Oh my God...." His voice cracked as his free hand came up to cover his suddenly trembling mouth. "Cleo..."  
  
  
  
With that stunning news, the three of them took off down the hallway at a swifter than usual walk heading for the School Master's office. It had been about 25 minutes since Saitou had hung up the phone with Hiko Seijurou and time was getting thin if they wanted to be there before the family arrived, so the pace was closer to a jog than a walk.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Are we almost there, Daddy?" The little voice wafted up from the back seat of the luxurious black Lincoln Towne Car attracting the attention of the stone faced black-haired man in the drivers seat.  
  
"No, Chibi-chan, we are not there yet... Now, please get back into your car seat before I get pulled over by a policeman." Hiko's voice grew sharp and terse near the end of his answer, and the little red-haired girl ducked back down out of the view of his mirror, and he could hear her clamoring around trying to get back into the car seat. "Soujiro, would you please help your sister get back into that damn seat, and this time, buckle her in so she can't get out!"  
  
"Yes, Sir." Soujiro winked at Cleo with his beautiful blue-gray eyes and reached over to help her settle back into the confining seat. "Hey, Baby-girl." He whispered in a conspiratal tone. "You gotta stay in this thing until we get there, or Dad is going to be too mad to let you out of the car."  
  
"You mean he might not let me see Kenshin?" The little blue orbs were wide and filled with innocent anxiousness as Cleo considered the possibility of not being about to see her oldest brother after waiting for such a long time, and after enduring such a long car ride.  
  
"Yes, he might not if you keep bugging him. You know how he is."  
  
"Ohh... I'll be good Soujiro... I promise. I won't move again."   
  
She settled into the hated car seat and sat patently as he pulled the seatbelt around and locked the buckle snugly thus successfully confining her inside the uncomfortable apparatus.   
  
"That's my girl," A quick kiss placed on the tip of her nose brought a cascade of delighted giggles out of her bow-shaped mouth and a choking tight hug from her chubby little-girl arms as Soujiro finished locking her into the seat. "There now. All closed down and ready for take off, Captain."   
  
"Did you open the flaps?" She asked seriously as she strained from side to side to see if he had pulled the edges of her coat out from under the over-head armrest.   
  
"Aye, Captain. Flaps open."   
  
"What about the perpeler? Is my perpeler ready too?" Little size 5 feet were kicking upward as Cleo tired desperately to see if Soujiro had retied her shoe laces into big bunny-ear bows or not like they were supposed to be, but she just could not get them high enough to see over the armrest locked down in front of her chest. "Soujiro??" She wailed. "Aye, Captain." Rich tenor laughter rumbled out of his throat as he carefully lifted first one then the other foot so she could see for herself that the shoelaces were indeed tied the right way.   
  
"Both propellers are properly wound up and ready for pre-flight inspection."   
  
"Ok, they look Ok... Ummmm..." Little pale red brows knitted in frustration for a moment and then she leaned toward her brother and whispered in a tone of pure dismay. "I don't remember what comes next... what comes next, Soujiro?"   
  
"The engines, Baby." He whispered back as he desperately tried not to laugh in the face of her obvious distress.  
  
"We start the engines."   
  
"Oh yeah." Nodding furiously and sending her loose fiery mane of long brilliant red hair billowing all around her and up into her brothers eyes and nose, Cleo happily recalled the rest of the sequence she and Soujiro had been playing ever since leaving home that morning. "Start my engines, First Mate... is that right?"   
  
"Yee-ss," It was impossible to stop the laughter entirely, but he did the best he could and then went on to start making the appropriate engine noises that he knew would have her in hysterical giggles within seconds.   
  
They had played several different variations of this game for the last six hours and, for the most part, it had kept her entertained enough to keep her off their Father's nerves. The black-haired, green-eyed man was not known for his lasting patience even with his youngest and most fragile child. So, Soujiro had taken it upon himself long ago to keep Cleo out of his hair and out of his way thus avoiding any ugly consequences.   
  
As he hugged the precious little girl and tickled her and kissed her, he mentally thanked God for having Kenshin be gone all these years. In a way, it was a terrible thing to be grateful for, but in another way, it was the only reason his brother was still alive... and THAT was what he was truly grateful for. Had Kenshin been home, he would have been the one who would step between Cleo and their Father's temper, and with the ferocity of his own demeanor, things would have gotten bad very, very quickly. He would never had stood for Hiko's angry outbursts or drunken tirades, that he would not. Kenshin would have stood straight up in the old man's face and told him to go to hell before he ever let him lay a finger a Cleo, or Soujiro. Playing it nice and quiet and finding ways to avoid the nastier confrontations just was not his style when it came to their home life. He had always tried to protect everyone... especially his Mother, and that was still an issue Soujiro was having problems with even after 3 years. If Dharma loved Kenshin so much, why had she not fought harder to prove he was innocent when they all knew he was? And why had she not fought harder to keep his Father from sending Kenshin so faraway for such a long time? And why did she not fight harder to convince him to let them all come and see him more often? Especially Cleo?? Hiko had not hit her in over 2 years, so why was she not taking advantage of that and trying to win some leeway for HER son? Or, perhaps, that was exactly why she had not gotten hit in over 2 years because she had stopped trying.   
  
Soujiro mentally shook his head as he remembered all of the times Kenshin had stood between his father and him, and how many beatings he had taken instead of him just to keep him safe. That was why he was so fairly certain that Kenshin would not be alive now if he had remained at home. He would have made it his responsibility to stand between the raging drunk that was their father, and BOTH of his younger siblings, and no one could survive that many vicious beatings especially when he had started making it his business to pull the vicious abuser off his screaming withering Mother as well. But he was not going to think about that any more right now. All he wanted to do was see Kenshin.   
  
It had been over a year since their Father had brought them all to Evermore to visit his eldest son, and Soujiro was brimming with an excitement that reminded him of years past when he and Kenshin used to get up early on Christmas morning waiting to see what Santa Claus had brought them. He felt like a little kid again, and he was nearly as nervous about seeing Kenshin as Cleo was. He wondered if Kenshin were nervous too.   
  
Looking out of Master Saitou's Office window, the big Lincoln pulled into the parking lot, where he watched it park, his breathing quickened to a rapid shallow pace that was making him feel lightheaded, and his heart began to jump wildly inside the confinement of his chest like a wild thing trapped in a cage that was too small.   
  
"They are here."   
  
It was a hoarse muted whisper but it caught Kaoru's attention and she moved to his side and looked out the window with him.   
  
"THAT is their car?" Blue eyes rounded into huge orbs of astonished liquid cobalt as she pointed at the big car as it pulled into a vacant space and stopped.   
  
"Yes... that is his car." Kenshin trembled beside her, and Kaoru cast a worried sideways glance at him and noticed how pale he suddenly looked to her. Worry creased her pretty face, and she slipped an arm around his waist and dropping her chin onto his shoulder, hugged him up against her side comfortingly.   
  
"It's Ok, Kenshin. I won't leave you alone with them... I promise."   
  
"I know, Kao... It is just... I-I have not seen any of them for over a year."   
  
"A year?" She gasped and her eyes shot back out the window in shocked outrage. "They have not been to see you in over a year? That... That is horrible!"   
  
"No... that is Hiko." Kenshin lowered his chin which dropped his face making him look like a small vulnerable child. "He thinks I am a bad influence for Soujiro and Cleo to be around."   
  
"That's bullshit and you know it." Kaoru was angry now. She had not really cared for his parents to begin with, but this was just moving her dislike of them forward a few more notches. "You aren't supposed to treat your kids that way. It's not right."   
  
"It is to him... and That is all that really matters."   
  
"Well, he is WRONG, and that is what really matters." A rough shake brought his wide violet eyes up to lock with her angry blue ones and for a moment it seemed he was not going to even try to believe her, but then the fierceness she was more used to seeing started to glint in their crystalline depths, and Kenshin lifted his jaw and straightened his shoulders.  
  
"All right, Takuni." He said in a tight whisper as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her around to face him. "You win... HE is wrong... and YOU are right."   
  
"Damn straight, Mister. And you had better be remembering That."   
  
"Or what?"   
  
  
  
"Or else."   
  
"Or else What?"   
  
"Or else I'm going to clobber you, that's what." A half smile curved his sullen expression even as a dry chuckle slid up his throat, and Kenshin leaned forward the short distance between them and brushed a soft kiss across her smiling mouth.   
  
"Ok, you're the Boss... for the moment, so I guess I better behave, huh?"   
  
"Uh-huh... but lets get one more thing straight before they get in here, Ok?"   
  
"What is that?" He asked as he eyed her suspiciously. "I am always the Boss, got it?" One sparkling blue eye winked at him making him shake his head and chuckle again. She had guts. He would give her that. The takuni had a lot of guts... for a takuni.   
  
"We will see about that, Takuni. WE will see about that."   
  
Then he hugged her close and breathed a quiet thank-you in her ear as he felt his anxiety level drop about 1000 degrees from what it had been a few moments earlier. He had to admit it. She was good for him, that she was.  
  
"WooW! Is this where Kenshin lives?" Cleo's round luminous blue eyes gazed in abject wonder and awe at the huge red brick building that was Ivy Payne as she climbed out of the back seat of the car. "It looks like a big red castle... doesn't it Soujiro?" Reaching out, she caught and then tightly grasped her brother's larger hand as she hopped to the slightly snow covered ground.   
  
"I guess it does a little bit, Baby." The brown haired boy cocked his head to one side and let his blue-gray eyes scan the proportions and contours of the old high school with an intense scrutiny. "So this is where I am going to be." He mumbled to himself. "Not too bad."   
  
The family had never actually gone to the main school building for any of their visits, but instead had usually met Kenshin somewhere on the grounds where there was grass and someplace to set. Somewhere neutral and impersonal.' Soujiro thought sourly. That way there were no real identifying memories to take back with us... with me.'   
  
"Is Kenshin in there?"   
  
"I imagine so, Cleo... Dad said he was supposed to be waiting for us when we got here."   
  
"Goodie... I can't wait to see him. Do I really look like him?" A beautiful little Angels face turned and looked up at him making his heart do little somersaults inside his chest as he looked into those clear blue eyes that Kenshin has missed seeing for such a long time. "Yes, Baby... you really do look an awfully lot like him. You have seen the pictures at home... You know you do."   
  
"I know I look like THOSE pictures, but do you think I still look like him?"   
  
"That is a foolish and unimportant question, Cleo Nyreece." Hiko had rounded the car to find out what was taking Soujiro so long in extracting the little girl from her car seat, only to find the two of them locked in an irritating conversation about their equally irritating brother. "We are wasting time just standing here talking about nonsense that does not matter. Now, come on and lets be on our way. I am sure Master Saitou is waiting for us by now."   
  
"Yes Sir." Soujiro scowled after his Father's retreating back as he leaned over and picked up a quivering Cleo.  
  
"Why did he say that, Soujiro? Why did Daddy say talking about Kenshin is nonsense?"   
  
"I... I... ahhh, I don't really know, Cleo, but I guess we better get moving before he comes back to get us again, huh."   
  
"Yes. I don't want him to make me wait in the car."   
  
"Me neither."   
  
"Do you think Kenshin will like me?" A worried look passed over the beautiful little face, and Soujiro felt his heart lurch in response to his sisters unwelcome anxiety.   
  
"Of course he will, Baby. I've told you a million times how he used to hold you and rock you in the rocking chair sometimes all night. Kenshin loved you... and he still loves you."   
  
"You're sure?"   
  
"Absolutely." She buried her face against the warmth of his neck and wrapped her arms around him tightly as he began to follow their parents up the sidewalk toward the front doors. "He's missed you too, Baby. He's missed you so much."   
  
"I think I missed him too... didn't I?" She leaned back and looked into Soujiro's serious face. "Didn't I? Soujiro?"   
  
"Yes, you did. For a long time."   
  
"I think I still do... when I have nightmares."   
  
"Yes, sometimes you still say his name in your sleep when you have nightmares."   
  
"Why did Kenshin go away, Soujiro? Why did he go away and never come back?"  
  
"That is a real complicated story, Baby. It isn't something I can explain to you until you are a little bit older, but I can tell you this. He didn't go away because he wanted to, and he hasn't stayed away because he wanted to either."   
  
"You mean he had to go away?"   
  
"Sort of... don't worry about that right now. Just concentrate on the fact that you are finally going to get to see him, and that is all that really matters."   
  
"Yes... It is, isn't it." With a happy sigh, she rested her head against her brother's shoulder once more and let her mind dream of a fairy-tale with a Prince and a Princess. The Prince had flaming red hair and brilliant violet eyes and his name was Kenshin, and he was going to save the Princess from the evil King and they were going to live happily ever after. It was a nice dream.   
  
"Come along, Dharma. I haven't got all day to do this. You know I have to get back to Denton by this evening." Hiko reached out and roughly grabbed his wife by her upper arm and pulled her from the car. It was a good thing for her that her coat was fairly heavy or she would have had a bruise to contend with later. "I have better things to do than pamper your spoiled asshole of a son. He already gets more than he deserves, and you know it."   
  
"Yes Dear." The muttered reply was spoken habitually out of years complacent behavior that had been learned more as a defense mechanism than as true conversation or agreement. It was just easier that way. Life in the Seijurou house was much simpler if one just agreed with Hiko... and it was also much safer. However, there had been many prices to pay for her complacence. One had been her self-respect. It was difficult to look her reflection in the eye anymore knowing that she had given up her pride and self-worth to stay married to such an abusive man.   
  
Second had been her independence. That had been lost to her after only the first few months of marriage to Hiko. He had stripped her of her personal bank account, her credit cards, her cell- phone, and anything else he deemed an 'unnecessary' luxury in her life. He handled all the money and gave her an allotted weekly allowance of $400.00 that she could spend on the children, but if she wanted to spend any money on herself, she had to ask for specific cash for that. And then, he would decide if the purchase were necessary or not. If it was not, he would not give her the money.   
  
Third was her contact with the outside world. Hiko took it upon himself to decide who the best people for her to associate with were, and her old, long time friends did not equate into his scheme of 'the rich businessman's wife', so she was not allowed to see them anymore.   
  
Lastly, and the most costly, she had been forced to give up her only beloved son, Kenshin, and that was something she might never forgive herself for.   
  
He and Hiko had never hit it off because Kenshin would not set by and watch his step-father abuse his Mother. The child had endured so many vicious beatings that Dharma had begun to fear too many head trauma's were going to leave him mentally disabled or worse. But the strength of her boy always seemed to overcome no matter what abuse his step-father heaped upon him, and his relentless resolve to never give in had ended him up in the hospital with broken bones more than once. So when he was accused of killing that old man, Dharma had seen a way to get him out of the house and away from Hiko's fists, and Hiko had seen away to just be rid of him. Thus, neither of them had fought the police on the insane charges that were brought up against Kenshin. The only thing they had fought against was his place of incarceration. There was no way in hell Dharma was letting her son go into a lock-down with real 'criminals', and that was probably the only argument she had ever won with Hiko, but the trade off had been nothing worse than a Devil's bargain for her.   
  
"Fine Dharma. I'll get him sent somewhere else... Maybe a private school up north or something, but then you have to do something for me in return."   
  
"What? What do you want, Hiko? I will do anything. Just don't let them put Kenshin in that horrible prison. Please, don't let them do that... you know he's innocent. You know he didn't kill that old man... you know it."   
  
"Of course I know it, but that doesn't change the fact that it would take a hellofa lawyer to get him off. There isn't enough evidence to prove he's innocent, or didn't you read the police report?"   
  
"I read it... I know what they said about him, but there has to be a better place to put him than a Juvenile Prison."   
  
"Like I said... I'll fix it up, but you have to do something for me."   
  
"What do you want?"   
  
"Once Kenshin is gone... He's gone."   
  
"What do you mean, 'gone'?"   
  
"He's out, cut off... He doesn't exist anymore. You know... POOF! He's history."   
  
"I-I don't understand."   
  
"Sure you do... Once he's out of here, we don't have anymore to do with him than is absolutely necessary to maintain proper parental image. Got it?"   
  
"Oh God.... you can't be serious."   
  
"Oh, but I am serious. I am sick and tired of the fucking kid getting in my way with his 'holier than thou' attitude and I intend to take advantage of his 'little' mistake by cutting him off from this family just like he was a cancer tumor. Take it or leave it, Dharma. That is my deal. Either Kenshin goes to juvie hall and becomes some 'bad boys bitch', or I get him sent somewhere nice and quiet... but on my terms. It is your choice."   
  
She had not known what to do, so she had agreed believing that she was at least keeping her son free from one fate, but knowing she was condemning him to the sadness of another. Kenshin would live the next 4 years believing his family had deserted him and no longer cared what happened to him, and in a very real way, he would be right. But in her heart of hearts, Dharma would always love her son, and the day they had left in the care of School Master Saitou her Mother's heart had shattered into a thousand unmendable pieces.   
  
Now she was walking up the sidewalk on her way to see that same son knowing that he believed without a shadow of a doubt, that she had betrayed him right along side his step-father, and that he probably hated her with as much, if not more, venom than he did Hiko. Dharma's heart felt very heavy for being in so many small pieces.   
  
"Look Kaoru, there is my Mother... I wonder why SHE looks so sad." Kenshin peered out of the window trying to get a better look at his Mother's face, but could not because she had lowered her head once Hiko had pulled her from the car. "If that asshole has..."   
  
"Kenshin, is that your brother and little sister?" Kaoru was pointing to a young man about Kenshin's same height, but with dark brown hair, carrying a little girl with flaming orangish-red hair on his hip who had just appeared around the side of the big car. "Soujiro... Cleo... Oh my God. It's them. It is really them." A shiver of anticipation quacked through his body as his eyes drank in the site of his two siblings even as his voice whispered what his heart could not believe. "They are really here, Kao. I cannot believe it, but they are really here."   
  
Turning around in a swift circle, he met the warm gazes of the two teachers standing behind him, and Kenshin found himself speechless at that moment so he just stood there looking at them with the most bewildered look on his face. "See," Tokio said gently. "I told you they would both be here."   
  
"I... ahhhh..."   
  
"Come on, Himura, lets go meet your family... or at least your brother and sister." Saitou walked up to the stunned teen and grasped him by the shoulder with a firm but compassionate hand. "At least we can be sure 'they' are going to be more than happy to see YOU... and if I am not mistaken, I think you are way beyond happy to see them."   
  
"Ahhh... Yes Sir." Lavender crystals shining with unshed moistness blinked to keep the tears from falling as Kenshin met the understanding topaz gaze of the School Master. "That I am." Was his choked reply as a shaky smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "That I am."   
  
"All right then, lets go meet them, my friend." And Saitou pulled Kenshin toward the door. Kenshin, in turn, pulled Kaoru behind him. Tokio followed on her own. As they entered the empty hallway, the echoing 'thunk' of the double front doors closing could be heard as it rolled along the formica flooring. Kenshin and Kaoru both snapped their gaze sharply to the right in the direction of the sound and both gasped as they saw Soujiro and Cleo standing in the middle of the hallway.   
  
"Hey, Brother!" Soujiro hollered and waved with his free hand. "Where the hell have you been?" Kaoru watched as a mischievous grin curved Kenshin's mouth and a gleam of pure laughter filled his eyes.   
  
"In Rio," He yelled back. "Judging the wet T-shirt contests."   
  
"Awww man, and you didn't take me with... Asshole."   
  
"Hey, watch who you're calling an asshole, shit for brains."   
  
"Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah... you can't call me that anymore, buddy."   
  
"And why the hell not?"   
  
"Because I have been pulling straight A's... just like you, that is why."   
  
"Ewwwwwwwww.... will wonders never cease. Somebody call God... It's a red letter day."   
  
"Awww, shut-up, will ya."   
  
"Not unless you think you can make me, wussy-boy."   
  
"Don't make me come over there, man."   
  
"Try it, and see what happens."   
  
"You daring me?"   
  
"What did it sound like? Or are you deaf as well as stupid?"   
  
"All right. That is it. Now you've really pissed me off."   
  
"Oh no... I've pissed you off?? I am soooo scared."   
  
"You ought to be, you OLD wind bag."   
  
"OLD?? Who are you calling OLD, baby face?" Karou was standing next to Kenshin with her head whipping back and forth like she was at a tennis match, and the smile on her face was getting bigger by the minute. This was fun as well as funny. Watching the two brothers banter back and forth like this was a treat because she could tell neither on of them was getting angry or in the least bit upset with the other, in fact, the increase in Kenshin's mood was tangible to her, and it was making her heart sing. She was going to like Soujiro, she knew it already.   
  
"Are you about finished, you big over grown herring?"   
  
"Why, What's it to you, girly-boy?"   
  
"Well, Cleo and me... you see, we've been stuck in that car for about 6 hours waiting to get up here to see you... and, well, we'd both sort of like to give you a big hug, but if your still interested in throwing the shit around, I guess we can wait a little longer."   
  
Kaoru found herself sucking in a breath of awe as a smile broke across Soujiro's face transforming him into one of the most extraordinarily handsome boys she had ever seen in her life. The girls at Ive Payne definitely had a new heart-throb to moon and drool over in Soujiro Seijurou. That they did.   
  
"Hmmmm... In that case, I guess I'm done." Kenshin smiled and gently disentangled himself from Kaoru, and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, began walking toward his brother who, in turn, leaned down and carefully set the little girl down on the floor and then took her by the hand so he could lead her in the direction of the smiling lithe stranger in front of them. But, as her little blue orbs took in the handsome smiling face and the brilliantly shining dark purple eyes, something inside of her began to wriggle around and wake up, and long dormant baby memories that had not been known to her began to drift to the surface of her mind.   
  
Hysterical baby laughter mingled with a deeper tenor bubbling around it... Chubby little fingers getting caught and tangled inside a long heavy mane of silky red hair that was not Mama's, and that same red hair laying soft beneath her cheek as she snuggled against a hard flat chest listening to someone read and sing to her for hours and hours... Sleepy violet eyes that always had a twinkle in them just for her... Strong arms that used to toss her up into the air, and then catch her on the way back down... And the knowledge that she had been loved... loved so very much that those arms had been the only place she had wanted to be most of the time whether it was daytime or night. They had been the place she would run too when the monsters came, when she wanted a story read to her, or when she just wanted to snuggle up with her blanket and drink her bottle. And the sound of his voice was echoing inside of her head pulling at other long buried memories... Cleo could hear that same beloved voice calling to her, calling her name, calling her... And as these dozens of swirling images and feelings floated to the conscious surface of Cleo Himura's mind, she stopped walking in the middle of the hallway bringing Soujiro to an abrupt halt as well.   
  
Kenshin stopped walking also when he noticed the looked of ultimate sadness on his youngest siblings little face, and felt his heart squeeze painfully as tears began to slide down her smooth cheeks in distressed rivulets.   
  
"Oh Cleo..." Dharma whispered painfully as she watched the little girl from where she and Hiko had stopped to allow the children time to greet each other. "What is happening inside of your head, my precious? What are you thinking?"   
  
But it was a matter of what she was thinking as it was what she was remembering. Soujiro knelt down next to her and tenderly wiped the wetness from her fragile looking face with one of his hands. "What's wrong, Baby? Why are you crying?"   
  
"I... I can remember..." Blue eyes filled with a terrible pain as well as a wealth of tears turned to look into his face as her bottom lip began to quiver. "I remember."   
  
"What do you remember?"   
  
"Kenshin... I can remember things we used to do."   
  
"And that makes you sad?" She nodded her head and more tears cascaded down her face as she did. "Why, Cleo? Why would remembering the things you and Kenshin used to do make you sad?" Soujiro gently he brushed her flaming hair out of her face and waited for her to find a way to explain.   
  
"Cause, he loved me."   
  
"Yes, Baby... He loved you very much. I told you that before."   
  
"But... but..." Her chin trembled dangerously and she sucked in a ragged breath as she looked hard into her brothers patient blue-gray eyes. "But I didn't know I loved him so much too."   
  
Understanding finally dawned on Soujiro and he wrapped the confused little girl tightly in his arms and rocked her back and forth trying to comfort as best he could considering the magnitude her self revelation was having on her. "Yes Cleo... You loved Kenshin... You loved him more than anything else in this whole world, and when he left, you cried for weeks and weeks. It was awful."   
  
"I think I remember... I think that's why I feel so sad right now... I remember missing him so bad. Oh Soujiro, my heart hurts."   
  
"I know, Sweetheart, I know." He rubbed her frail little back as he tried to blink back the tears of his own pain and loss over his beloved brother so he could comfort hers, and then he gently pulled her back so he could look her in the face. "What do you think will make you feel better now, Cleo? What can we do to help you now? What do you want, Baby?"   
  
"I-I..." She cast a furtive look over her shoulder at their Father for a brief moment, and then looked back into her brothers face. "I want Kenshin back."   
  
"All right, Baby. He is right over there... go get him."   
  
Watery blue eyes searched his gentle face for a long moment as if looking for a sign of real permission, and finally Soujiro turned her around to face in Kenshin's direction and gave her a little shove. "Go on, he looks like he is about to bust or something wondering what in the heck is going on. Go put him out of his misery, little girl. I really think he needs you too."   
  
And that was all it took.   
  
In the next split instant of time, Cleo Nyreece Himura was racing up the hallway toward the brother she had not seen since she had been a baby in his arms with her own little arms stretched open wide crying out his name on a note of desperation. "Keennshhin!" His long legs carried him to her rushing form, and he bent down to scoop her up into his arms swinging her around in a high arcing circle before hugging her close to his chest and burying his face in the sweetness of her brilliant hair.   
  
"Cleo..." A choking whisper of intense emotion was all that he could manage as he held one of the most precious things in his life close to his heart once more after having lost it for such a long, long time. "Oh baby-girl, I missed you so much... that I have."   
  
His shoulders began to shake as the fierceness of her embrace around his neck became over whelming to him, and he finally lost his battle with his tears. "Poppet," She sniffled against his neck.   
  
  
  
"What?" Pulling back from her, he looked into her wet tearful face in mild confusion.   
  
"You used to call me 'Poppet'." She repeated as one of her small hands reached out to touch his face in wonder.  
  
"You remember that?" Gently he wiped some of the wetness off her pale cheeks with trembling fingers as he shifted her weight onto his hip.   
  
"Uh-huh... I remember a lot of stuff... I guess."   
  
"You guess? What do you mean by that?"   
  
"It's not like real memories, stuff... it's more like feelings and other things I remember... like pictures."   
  
"Tell me?" He asked as he pressed his larger forehead against her smaller one. "Tell me what you remember, Poppet."   
  
"I remember you used to sing to me sometimes," Little hands cupped his cheeks and then started to stroke them as Cleo rubbed her forehead along his trying to get closer to him. "And we'd stay up late rocking in the rocking chair all night... sometimes we'd sleep in it... didn't we?"   
  
"Yes, we did." Kenshin's voice filled with a thrill of joy as he listened to the little girl talk about some of his own most cherished memories.  
  
  
  
"And you used to carry me all over the house on your shoulders too, like we were a great big giant."   
  
"Yes, that I did... that I did." The shadow of a laugh wafted over his lips as he captured one of her chubby little hands and pressed a soft kiss into its small palm.   
  
"But, Kenshin...?"   
  
"What Baby?" He reared back as he detected the distress in her voice and looked earnestly into her face noticing as another frown marred its angelic perfection, and he tenderly cupped her soft cheek making her look him in the eyes. "Tell me what?"   
  
"The Monster's," Grabbing at the collar of his blue button down, Cleo pulled him closer to her until their noses were almost touching. "They all came back after you left."   
  
"They did?" The hand cupping her face gently tried to smooth the frown away from her bow-shaped mouth as he pressed a tender kiss against her nose. "Why did they do that, Poppet?"   
  
"Because you weren't there any more to make them go away." The steady forthrightness of her blue gaze wrenched at his heart and he felt a modicum of guilt settle upon his conscience as he hugged her tight against him again.   
  
"I am sorry, Honey." He said gently as he rubbed small circles around her thin back in a motion of instinctive comfort. "I did not mean to go away, that I did not, and I never meant to be gone for such a long time either. Can you forgive me?"   
  
The furious nodding of her little head jarred against his chin as she laid her cheek against the curve of his shoulder and wrapped her little arms around his neck again. She was back in the arms of her absolute security, and she knew it. The feelings of love and safety that her baby's mind remembered were wrapped all around her once again, and Cleo knew she had finally found that one thing that had gone missing from her young life for such a long time. The thing that she would cry for in the middle of the night when she did not understand why or what she was crying for. Now, she knew what it was and why having it gone had hurt inside of her heart for so long.   
  
It was Kenshin, and it was missing him and the love and security he had represented to her in those early months of her life when those things were the most important. He had imprinted himself on her heart and soul so deeply that having him taken from her had left wounds deeper and far more painful than even she could understand. But now she did. She needed her brother back in her life. She needed that safety and security that he represented to her, and she needed his love because it had been the replacement for the love she had never gotten from the stone faced man who was her Father. Kenshin had been her Father. Kenshin had been her whole world... and she had been his, and now they were back together. Perhaps fate would be kind and let them stay that way.  
  
Tearful violet eyes looked on in anguished joy as Dharma Himura watched her beloved son find a small measure of peace in the world of pain and rejection she had created for him, and with in her guilt ravaged heart she asked God to forgive her even as she begged for the chance to make right all of the wrongs done to him.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I thank you all for supporting my fictions and reading my work… and I thank you for your support when I reached out and asked for help for my friend, Female Hitokiri Battousai. Now, I apologize for the many times I have complained and lamented about my personal life and my health… It was bad form and poor manners.  
  
I am deeply sorry and regretful.  
  
I thank those of you who have offered kind words to me in the past. I am humbled by your warmth and encouragement. Thank you all.   
  
And Thank you, Haruko, my beloved and dear friend. You mean so much to me. God bless you for everything you do, and for everything you say. I love you dearly. Kanzen Ne Tsuki 


	11. The Kodora's Mesu Tora

A/N: Because many of you read all of my fanfictions, you will recognize the term below, Mesu Tora, from 'Beloved of The White Flame'. It refers to a female tiger... I have chose it to refer to a male tiger's mate, hence; Mesu Tora is the meito of the Kodora, or 'The Small Tiger'. The reference is the same for both stories but refer to different individuals and circumstances as well as different metaphorical exhibition and reasoning. Therefore, the similarities in the use of the term 'Mesu Tora' between the two fanfictions fairly well ends with the fact that it is naming the bearer as the Mate or Meito of The Kodora. Behavior manifestations and personality traits are completely individual to each female chosen to bear the Title of The Mesu Tora... as are the reactions, instincts, gifts, and skills of the one called 'The Kodora'.  
  
A/N: I apologize for any scripting errors, spelling errors, and grammatical errors. I really stink at that stuff even though I have word perfect and everything. But I did not send this chapter to my dear Haruko. She is like swamped at home with a lot of things going on, and I did not want to add to her burdens right now… so, I'm flying on my own this time around. Bear with me please. You all know she is much better at beta reading than I am. I just felt like she needed a break to get caught up in her personal life… Send her you emotional support, I really think she could use it right now. God Bless Her. I'm dedicating this chapter in honor of her and all of the hours of hard work she puts in for me. Much love, and humble gratitude to you, My Dear Haruko. This is for you. Kanzen ne Tsuki  
  
Glossary: Mesu Tora=Female Tiger, Kodora=Small Tiger, Meito=Mate  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
The Kodora's Mesu Tora  
  
October 31, 2001. Tuesday  
  
Halloween Day, 5:38 p.m.  
  
3 ½ hours before the dance  
  
"Hey, is there room for one more in there, or is this a private party?" The trembling and tentative voice of Kenshin's younger brother quietly wormed its way into his ear successfully gaining his attention and pulling him a fraction or two away from the precious bundle of the warm, relaxed little Angel he held in his arms. Deep midnight blue eyes filled with the misty shine of unshed tears met and locked with the wide anxiety filled blue-gray ponds that belonged to a brother that meant nearly as much as the precious bundle, and Kenshin released a small hoarse cry of heart felt need as he reached out a strong arm and pulled the trembling form of his equally emotional brother into the fierceness of his desperate embrace.  
  
"Soujiro... Oh God..." Kenshin pushed his face into his brothers shoulder as Soujiro's arms closed around him and tried to hold him tight without crushing the tender form of Cleo, who was pinned between their chests.  
  
"Kenshhiin... I m-missed you... God, I missed you, b-brother..." And then the two brothers stood quietly in the middle of the hallway not making even the smallest sound. They just held onto each other and Cleo as if their very lives depended upon them remaining in close physical contact for as long as humanly possible, and no one standing around them in the hallway made any move to try and pull them apart. That was until Hiko began to notice the reactions that the 'tender' little scene was evoking within those people who were watching.   
  
School Master Saitou, who was standing with his pretty wife, had his arm lovingly wrapped around her slender shoulders and her snugly tucked against the protection of his side. Tears were sliding down her lovely pale face, and she looked as if she might break out into 'Amazing Grace' at any moment there was such a look of sorrow frozen upon her fine boned features. Master Saitou himself looked as if he had swallowed something that tasted particularly bad the way his brows were drawn so tightly together and his thin lips were drawn back showing his teeth in half a snarl. He looked angry, disgusted, and appalled all at the same time, and Hiko felt a cold shiver of apprehension slither up his spine as the memory of the State Social Services threat suddenly began playing through his mind.   
  
'Why the hell did the brats have to be so fucking emotional today of all days? Why couldn't they have waited until later... when we were in private? Why do they have to put on such a frigging show for everyone just when I'm trying to make everything look good? Don't they know anything, for God's sake?' Then his eyes caught sight of 'Her', and he felt a rush of new fury surge through his system erupting into a blazing inferno of white hot flame as it exploded into his blood stream. 'Who.. The fuck.. Is.. That?' She was beautiful on all accounts. Long silky black hair that was pulled back into a large butterfly barrette cascaded down her back like the flowing satin of raven's wings easily reaching her shapely hips where it ended in a mass of tumultuous curls. Huge rounded blue eyes glistening with the purity of fresh tears, glimmered in the pale afternoon light like twin sapphires filled with the eternal shine of perfectly matched crystals. She had the face of an angel. Sweet, innocent, fragile... another shiver rippled through his tall muscular frame that had nothing to do with apprehension or fury. Recognition. Rage. Grief? Confusion.   
  
She was standing just a few feet behind Kenshin and his siblings, but not quite with the School Master and his wife, and as his heated emerald gaze raked over her slender youthful form, it became quite obvious to him. The tears in her eyes, the doe-faced look of hope and sorrow plastered across her delicate features, and the way she seemed to be unconsciously reaching toward the hugging threesome without actually approaching them all told him one undeniable thing. SHE was with HIM... with Kenshin. Somehow that little asshole had managed to get himself attached to the prettiest thing Hiko had seen in years... and for some unconscionable reason, it was really pissing him off. How in the bloody 7-hells had that red-haired demon managed to get himself a...  
  
'Girlfriend??' Hiko's emerald green eyes narrowed dangerously as he continued to study the raven-haired girl behind Kenshin. 'He has never had a girlfriend before... He's never even had any real friends before... I thought I made sure of that.' Black eyebrows knitted together ominously as he reviewed his plans for his step-son's incarceration, and he began mentally clicking off details as he went. 'I made sure the rumors about the details of his arrest and conviction got dropped into mainstream circulation. That, in and of itself, would make it nigh impossible for him to gain anyone's trust or make friends. No self-respecting snobbish teenager one wants to be friends with a kid who killed an old man for practically no reason. After all, they have their own reputations to worry about without getting mixed up with a known felon.' A big mental smile passed through his mind as he savored the reactions the rumors he had carefully started had caused throughout the small school. That single act had all but ensured his step-son would forever remain a pariah at Ive Payne no matter how hard he tried. It was a silent victory that Hiko cherished every time he and Dharma came to visit the brat and found him still completely alone, and Hiko had made sure it stayed that way by carefully nurturing the foul story of the old man's demise at Kenshin's hands every chance he got.  
  
But as Hiko watched the lovely black-haired girl cry and smile over Kenshin's emotionally charged reunion with his brother and sister, he felt the rise in his hatred of the boy grow even more because of her. He did not like Her being with Kenshin. He did not like it at all, and the more he thought about it, the more he knew she was going to mean trouble for all of his plans if he did not get the two of them apart somehow. How he was going to do that without everyone knowing it was by his hand, he did not know, but he had to get them separated before she ruined everything. At the moment he understood he had absolutely no power, it was going to take time to plan this whole thing out so he would not be suspect, but Hiko knew he could at least put an end to this current situation at hand before he lost total control. So, with that thought in mind, he strode up the hallway, pulled the brothers apart, and then started to try and take Cleo out of Kenshin's arms.   
  
It was a poorly conceived idea on his part, and an even worse plan. Hiko was not prepared for what happened next, that he was not. But it was something that would be talked about by the Senior class of 2001, who came running out of the Gymnasium in response to the commotion, and inadvertently witnessed the entire event for weeks to come.  
  
"All right, that is quite enough for now... come on, Soujiro, let go of your brother before you choke him." Kenshin vaguely felt the presence of his brothers body being roughly yanked away from him, and a sudden rush of cold air sent gooseflesh dancing across his arms and down his back as the warmth went with it. "Now then, Miss Cleo, come to Papa... you have been hanging around Kenshin's neck quite long enough... Come here..." Warning alarms and protective screaming instincts began going off in Kenshin's head all at the same time as he felt his step-father's hands grabbing at the warm little body laying on his chest, and that hated voice saying the words that would take his beautiful Angel away from him, but before he could react, he was suddenly holding a screaming, clamoring, clawing wild-cat in his arms. Cleo, it seemed, had absolutely no intention whatsoever of relinquishing her place of comfort and safety within her brothers arms, least of all to allow herself to be passed into the arms of 'Papa'.   
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONOOOOOOOOOOOOONOOOOOOOOOOO! IWANNNASTAY WITHKENSHIN!!IWANNASTAYWITHKENSHIN!!IWANNASTAYWITH KENSHIN!! WANNASTAYWANNASTAYWANNASTAYWANNASTAY!" She screamed and screamed while her arms and hands lashed out viciously at her Father making him take a surprised step back to avoid her thin razor sharp baby claws. A flood of tears streamed down her tiny face as she was visibly consumed by a panic that no one could explain or control... Except Kenshin, who at the moment was just as surprised and shocked as everyone else.   
  
"Cleo Nyreece!" Hiko growled at his youngest child in a deep threatening voice as he advanced on her once more with the obvious intention of forcing her to let go of her brother. "I will not accept this behavior from you, Young Lady. You will cease this catter-whalling immediately and let go of your brother. You are embarrassing your Mother and I... and you are making a spectacle of yourself, and I will not have it... Do you hear me? I will not have it!"  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Cleo whailed and practically crawled around Kenshin's neck trying to get away from her Father's advancing presence. "I'm not a spekital... I'm not... I'm not..."  
  
"You are... You are behaving like a spoiled brat... Now come here and stop all of this squalling and carrying on immediately." Hiko grabbed for her a second time, but found himself thwarted from reaching his goal by the iron grip of a very strong hand around as it closed around his wrist like a steel vice.  
  
"I do not think she wants to go with you just now... Sir." The voice was low, steady, but completely neutral. Not one hint of a threat or disrespect was evident in the tone, yet there was no giving in to it either. It was a simply spoken statement, but it had a sense of finality about it that was undeniable if not unsettling and the hallway grew cold and silent as a grave as the eyes of the crowd of newly gathered spectators froze in disbelieving awe and dread.  
  
"I'm sure I did not hear you right... Kenshin." Hiko's voice was cold as ice as he turned his head and met the level dark lavender gaze of his red-headed step-son.  
  
"I assure you... Sir. You heard me quite clearly." Still the voice was steady and neutral while the grip on Hiko's wrist remained clenched tight as a vice. "It seems to me that she wants to spend a bit more time with me, and I do not see any problem with that whatsoever. She is not a problem or a burden to me. In fact, Sir, I am quite enjoying this reunion with her. After all, I have not seen her for almost 4 years, have I?" Hiko was cornered, and he knew it, but he was not ready to give in yet.   
  
"No, you have not, Kenshin." Icy hatred filled his emerald eyes although his voice remained as even toned as the boy-man in front of him. "That is precisely why I think she needs to come back to her Father... She really does not know you... does she? You are still a stranger to her... aren't you?" A malicious gleam of victory shimmered in those evil pools of deep dark green as Hiko expectantly held his free arm out to receive his daughter, but once more, he was not prepared for what happened next.  
  
"Perhaps, Sir, you should ask Cleo what 'she' wants to do instead of making such an important decision for her by yourself. It appears to me that you are not very well versed in child psychology or you would realize that causing her more emotional trauma after such an important event as this can only bring about further problems and bonding issues later in her life as well as separation anxiety and abandonment problems now." A gentle yet knowing smile curved Kenshin's mouth as he carefully released his grip on his step-fathers wrist. "What she needs at this moment is reassurance and security, not further emotional upheaval and identity issues to resolve. Surely a man of your intelligence can understand that. She is quite safe where she is at this point, and I am quite comfortable in keeping her right here, so, if you don't mind... Sir, let's just leave things the way they are, shall we?"   
  
Hiko stood frozen with his eyes blown wide open in shocked outrage. 'How dare that little prick lecture me...' He raged inside his mind as he took in the gentle smile and the diamond hard violet crystals in the face of the boy-man standing steadily before him without any show of fear or apology for his actions. 'He's not the least bit afraid of me.' Hiko realized, as a rush of superiority complex surged through his boiling psyche. This was no longer the little wild animal that had always got in his way at home while he was trying to mete out his measure of discipline... Kenshin had grown up, and being all on his 'lonely' had forced him to grow up in a way Hiko had never bargained on.   
  
Kenshin had done Hiko one better than he had ever given him credit for. The kid had always had more guts than he knew what to do with, and he had used them blindly like an untried wolf-cub, but now... Now he had the brain and confidence to go with the guts, and he was by no means any mans fool. Kenshin had grown into the personification of 'The Bad Kid' Hiko had always told everyone he was. Cold. Emotionless. Self-assured. Intelligent. Deliberate. And Manipulative to a fault. If he had not known for himself that Kenshin was incapable of murder or truly harming anyone, seeing him like this could almost change his mind. The kid was bloody unnerving and Hiko felt as if he had just been 'castrated' in front of all of these people by the calm, deadly intelligence that had quietly outmaneuvered him. A blinding red hot rage began boiling up within him sifting dangerously through his rational mind shifting his perspective away from his original goal, and his large hands clenched unseen into massive fists at his sides.  
  
"You forget yourself, boy..." Hiko snarled in a low warning voice that bespoke a violence in the man Kenshin knew all to well. "I'm still your Father, and it is my rules we live by... not yours." A slow nonchalant half smile lifted the corner of Kenshin lips as his eyes shaded a gleaming violet- gold, and he once more shifted Cleo's light weight onto one hip.  
  
"Let's get one thing straight, old man..." All eyes suddenly turned toward Kenshin as they listened to a voice they had heard a thousand-thousand times. It was his 'I don't give a shit, you go to hell,' voice, and none of them could believe he was using it on this mountain of a man... who was his Father. "I'm not a 'boy' anymore."  
  
"Maybe... maybe not... but, I am still your Father."  
  
"Is that so..."  
  
"Yes, that's so."  
  
"I don't think so. And Kenshin's eyes flashed a deep rich gleaming gold that shown eerily from his stony face as he locked and held the raging green gaze of the furious man in front of him. The sound of several muffled gasps could be heard coming from all around the two men, but neither seemed to be hearing any of them as the tension between them soared a hundredfold.  
  
  
  
Saitou gripped Tokio's shoulders painfully as he watched in disbelief the scene that was now unfolding itself before him. He had actually thought that everything was going to be all right once the three siblings had gotten together. It had shocked him beyond rational thought when the old man had yanked young Soujiro away from Kenshin and then tried to take the little girl away as well. What was he thinking? Was he insane? Didn't he have any idea what that kind of a separation could and would do to those kids? Did he even give a shit? Now, he was watching something he had never thought to see. Hiko Seijurou practically threatening Kenshin, and in front of so many witnesses.   
  
"Hey, Dad?" Ruakii sidled over next to his parents with Tomoe in hand, a look of confusion and worry on both of their faces. "What's up with Himura? Who are all those people? We heard all this screaming and shit clear in the Gym. What's going on?"  
  
"Kenshin's family." Saitou's voice was tight as he spoke and he did not turn to look at his son as he spoke which was quite unusual and struck Ruakii as very strange.  
  
"His Family?? If it's his family, what is all the screaming about?"  
  
"Not here, Ruakii... not now... later."  
  
"But Dad..."  
  
"Later." Saitou's voice was sharp and final bringing a look of hurt to his son's face until he turned to follow the line of his Father's intense gaze. That was when he noticed Kenshin holding a little girl in his arms with her arms wrapped so tightly around his neck it looked like she might pull his head right off, and he was facing a mountain of a man with black hair who was looking death at him.  
  
"Who is the little girl, Mom?" Ruakii asked as he cast a furtive look at the equally confused Tomoe.  
  
"Kenshin's little sister, Cleo."  
  
"Sister?? Himura has a little sister? I didn't know that."   
  
"No one does but your Father and I... He hasn't seen her since she was a baby."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"His Step-Father wouldn't allow it." Saitou's voice was like ice. "He believes Kenshin is a bad influence and does not want him to have a bad affect on Cleo."  
  
"That is bullshit!" Ruakii snorted. "Himura's may be an asshole, but he's not a bad influence on anybody."  
  
"Hummmm.... Maybe you should tell HIM that sometime, Ruakii." Saitou finally turned and met the dark brown gaze of his son. "He could use all the friends he can get."  
  
"What do you mean by that? The guy won't let anybody be his friend, Dad... He's a fucking loner. Besides, he did kill that old man you know..."  
  
"Do you really believe that, Ruakii? Do you really believe that if you can stand there and say he's not a bad influence on anyone?"  
  
"Well... I... I... What do you believe, Dad?"  
  
"I believe he's innocent."  
  
"WHAT??"  
  
"You heard me. So does your Mother."  
  
"I... I don't know." Ruakii looked at Tomoe who was now wearing a confused thoughtful look on her pretty face. "What?" He asked as she turned to look at him. "What are you thinking?"  
  
"Well, if he was really as bad as everyone says... would he have... well, would he have been able to get Kaoru-the-mouse to trust him when no one else could?"  
  
"Good point..."  
  
"You never know, Ruakii.." Saitou said to his now ambivalent son . "Even I was willing to believe everything the Police and his parents fed me about him, but lately... I just can't swallow it anymore. It's a suit that just doesn't fit him like it used to... 'Course, I don't think it ever did fit. We made it fit because it was easier to do that than try to figure out who he really was."  
  
"Who is he Dad... I mean, what are you talking about?"  
  
"Look at him, Ruakii... Just look at him." And Ruakii's brown eyes turned to watch as the nemesis of his teenage life protectively held a little girl tightly against his heart while facing the biggest, most frightening looking 'beast' of a man Ruakii had ever seen.  
  
  
  
"You forget yourself, old man... You are not MY Father, and I do not have to listen to you anymore." If Hiko's voice had been icy, then Kenshin's was cold and smooth as a polar lake. "You are the One who abandoned ME here, and for that, I owe you a great thanks. It is the only decent thing you ever did for me."  
  
"You arrogant little bastard. How dare you speak to me in such a manner. I demand you show me the respect that is due me. I AM still your LEGAL Father, and you will honor me as such." Kenshin watched blandly as the large man advanced one threatening pace in his direction. He did not move an inch. He did not even flinch, but calmly stood his ground.  
  
"At the moment," He replied, his voice dropping to a low rumble in his chest. "'You' are MY legal nothing, or have you forgotten who my LEGAL guardians are? If you have, allow me to introduce them to you. I am sure you remember School Master Hajime Saitou and his lovely Wife, Tokio Takagi." Kenshin politely waved toward the mentioned couple who both took several steps forward showing their presence and support for the young man. Hiko could feel himself losing ground quickly in this battle of words and wills, but that realization only seemed to push him forward despite the knowledge that he was putting his own plans for further interference and manipulations into jeopardy. His rage was making him careless, but he would see this insolent little prick on his knees begging for leniency before he was through if it was the last he did today.   
  
"Do not try to match wits with me, young man. You will surely lose if you do. I have always had the upper hand in all things to do with you and your life, so if you have no wish for further difficulties... give Cleo to me and I will remain true to my agreement with Master Saitou, and allow your brother to come to school with you. Otherwise... the deal is off. Get me?"   
  
Slowly Kenshin turned around and gestured to the girl behind him. Quiet words were spoken between them, and a very complacent Cleo was tenderly handed over and wrapped snugly up against the girls soft breasts even as the little girl wrapped her own little arms around that graceful neck and sought refuge in the mane of silky black hair. Another gesture was made and Soujiro walked over to stand beside the girl as well, and then Kenshin turned back and faced Hiko. A slow smile of pure acid crossed his handsome face as he deliberately shifted his feet apart about eighteen inches.  
  
"Isn't that just like you... Father," He sneered over the word making it sound more like a disparaging slur than an honorable Title. "Manipulating the deal after the papers are all signed and delivered because the odd wrinkle or two showed up to cramp your style..." Pale hued golden crystals shimmered with life, and then began to glitter brilliantly like polished amber in the sun as Kenshin's fighting energy and protective spirit began to rise to the surface. "Well, let me enlighten you, old man. This time, that isn't going to happen. This time, you do not get to change the rules to suit yourself. This time... We play it my way... we play by my rules, not yours."  
  
"Oh My God..." Saitou could feel the sudden rising shift in Kenshin's ki as if another physical entity of pure elemental energy had entered the hallway and joined them. The power and strength of his purpose was enormous as it reached outward from his body and blanketed all of those people around him in a shield of golden warmth. "Kodora... what are you doing?"  
  
Ruakii looked up at his Father in bewilderment and laid a questioning hand on the taut muscle of his shoulder. "What's going on, Dad?" He asked in a shaky voice. "Can you feel it? What is 'this'? What is happening?"  
  
"It is Kenshin's spirit ki, Ruakii. He is preparing to do battle, and he is trying to protect all of us as well."  
  
"It... It's huge... I-I've never felt anything this big before, Dad... "  
  
"Neither have I." Ruakii's head whipped up and he stared at the shocked look on his Father's usually stern profile. He could see the awe and wonderment on his father face as well as the worry and confusion.  
  
"Dad??"  
  
"I didn't know he could do this... I didn't know."  
  
"I did." The low baritone of Sanosuke Sagara drifted over Ruakii's shoulder and into Saitou's hearing range. "I saw it once, but only for a minute... that was enough."  
  
"Is he dangerous like this, Sano?"  
  
"Yes, Sir... Scared the shit out of me... but he can control it... if he wants to."  
  
"If he wants to... God help us."   
  
"Your rules?!" Hiko roared and finally lost his perspective completely to the rage surging through his system and lunged at the red-haired golden-eyed demon in front of him. 'You're dead!' His mind screamed. 'You're dead!' And he sent the massive ball of his clenched fist at a deadly speed toward the hated face of his step-son. 'DIE!!!' But his fist found no purchase and Hiko stumbled past the place Kenshin had been standing only an instant before. 'What the...' He turned swiftly in an attempt to defend any counter punches, but instead found his adversary standing in a low crouch several feet away eyeing him with a bland look. 'How...'  
  
"You are getting slow, old man." Was the sarcastic remark from the seemingly unruffled young man staring at him. "I seem to remember you being able to move much faster than that... or maybe, I just got better than you. Which would you say is the reason that you missed me when you had such a clear shot of my head?" One elegant brown eyebrow raised questioningly as the golden gaze raked over the older man in quick assessment. "I think you just got too slow... don't you?" The slur was obvious.  
  
"You fucking little bastard..." Hiko puffed in a breathy whisper meant only for Kenshin's ears as he squared his shoulders and rolled his neck. "It really is about time I taught you a lesson... You've been gone way too long, haven't you? You forgot whose in charge, and where the line of command starts... and ends. And... you forgot whose got all the answers to your past..." He smiled with evil satisfaction as he watched the look of profound understanding that crossed Kenshin's face as the words he had just said sank in. "That's right, you little maggot. I'm the one who fixed everything so you'd end up taking the whole rap for what went down that night." Sneering with victory, Hiko hissed his confession into Kenshin's stunned face. "I did it all. I fed you to the Police on a Silver Platter... I made your Mother give you up... I did everything." An evil whispery laugh slid between his lips as he waited for the cold reality to settle deep into that arrogant insolent mind. "What do you think about that, Maggot-boy? Huh? How does that little piece of Knowledge set in your craw? I hope it burns. I hope it burns like hell."  
  
Kenshin forced his features to remain completely devoid of emotion as the fury of three and a half years of wrongful incarceration and a wrongful verdict of guilty rushed through his body like the flood of a hundred rivers surging into a empty lake bed.   
  
On purpose... the old sonofabitch had done it on purpose to get him out of the house. But why? Kenshin's mind was whirling and spinning on the edge of irrational fury even as it raced trying to see a reason as to why Hiko would go to such outlandish lengths to get him away from the rest of the family... and for such a long time as well. And then it came to him like the flash of a mighty lightening bolt. Power. Control. Infinite Superiority without conflict. Perfect Domination.  
  
Kenshin had been the thorn in his side, the gall in his throat, the bane of his existence... his life's nemesis. Kenshin had been the one and only thing Hiko could not control, and he had been the one thing that kept getting in the way of Hiko's being able to control everyone else. Kenshin had always tried to protect his Mother and his Brother from his step-father's raging abuse. It had been his unrelenting tenacity that had forced him to stand up to the unrighteous authority again and again and again no matter how badly he was beaten. He would rather die than stand aside and allow the others to be abused, and he had fought Hiko like a wild thing every single day they had lived together as Father and Son, and because of that, Hiko hated Kenshin more than anything else in his life. Kenshin was the only thing he had never been able to dominate. No matter how much he beat him or punished him, Hiko had never been able to break the boys spirit or his sense of honor and responsibility toward the others. Sending him away was his last resort and the only way to be rid of the boy... short of killing him. (Though, the thought had occurred to him often enough.)  
  
But now Hiko waited. Waited with baited breath for the boy-man to lose his precious control and drop his guard. It would happen, he knew it would happen. But, then again, nothing had happened the way he had expected it to that day.  
  
"It sets just fine with me, old man." Kenshin kept his voice low as well, not wanting everyone to hear this particular conversation. Why he had been convicted and incarcerated was becoming irrelevant to him as well as a mute point. "You dumping me in here still remains the best thing you ever did for me. At least I had the chance to find out what it feels like to have somebody care what happens to me."  
  
"What? You mean Her? That pretty little black-haired whore you got over there?" Something back in the far reaches of his brain began to wriggle around as that particular insult spilt from his thin lips. It sounded… familiar? "You think she really cares abut YOU? If you do, then you are even more stupid than you were three years ago when I cut you loose." Hiko's tone was cruel, but then, it was intended to be, and he watched carefully to see what sort of reaction he would get out of Kenshin after calling his pretty little girl a whore. To his continued consternation and growing frustration, there was not one. Kenshin just remained in his defensive crouch staring solemnly at Hiko with those crazy looking gold colored eyes. "What's the matter, boy…" He sneered desperately trying to get a rise out of the stoic teen like he used to be able to. "No more fight left in you?" Hiko ran a hand roughly through his thick black hair as he grinned mockingly at his step-son. "You never were much of one to fight very long, were you? I always could beat you without raising a sweat."  
  
"Hmmmm," Kenshin's voice remained quiet though it easily shifted toward a more menacing tone as his eyes narrowed into wolfish slits. "Seems to me that YOU are the only one sweating in here at the moment, old man, and you have yet to lay a single finger on me... I wonder what that means?"  
  
"It doesn't mean anything." Hiko snarled and flexed his shoulder eyeing the crouched teen.  
  
"Really... Seems to me it could mean a lot of things."  
  
"Like what?" Long nimble fingers deliberately folded themselves into a rock hard fist.  
  
"Like, for instance... You have gotten slow and sloppy in my absence, or... You weren't prepared for me to be all grown up and facing you like a man, or... maybe it's both, plus you've just gotten fat and lazy with nobody to keep you on your toes since I left. Whatever it is, you are a pitiful excuse for a man the way you are. You are nothing but an overstuffed bully in a $3,000.00 suit." The last was spoken in a voice that so resembled the low growl of an animal that the short hairs on the back of Hiko's neck stood up in silent alarm, and it was in that moment that the big man finally realized something very important. Kenshin was playing with him. Kenshin was playing with him like a cat plays with a mouse, and had he had been playing with him almost from the very first moment he had grabbed his wrist when he tried to take Cleo. Hiko suddenly knew he was outclassed and outmatched... and a little pinch of fear tweaked deep down inside his stomach as he locked gazes with the golden eyed man wolf crouched before him. No longer the untried cub fighting on instinct and guts alone… He knew exactly what he was doing, and in the space of a breath, had turned the tables on the blustering abuser. 'He is better than I am...'  
  
Suddenly the blur of Hiko's tan trench coat was all anyone could see as he rushed Kenshin's smaller crouched form in a blinding burst of unnatural speed, and as the hulking beast bore down on the young warrior, a high thin scream of terror split the stillness of the hallway letting the blood of the past pour forth upon the two men in a fountain of truth and grief.  
  
"KENNSSHHHINN!!!" Dharma was screaming hysterically as she flew forward toward the scene and what she feared most would happen.   
  
Hiko was going to kill her son... after all this time, after everything she had done and gone through... after everything she had given up... He was going to kill Kenshin anyway.   
  
"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"  
  
But Kenshin was ready... He had been ready from the moment he had taken up his defensive stance. It was the same one he had used on Ruakii the day of Kata Finals, and he was going to use it on his Step-Father the same way.  
  
As Hiko lunged at him bringing the cannonball of his fist arching downward at a sharp angle meant to catch Kenshin in the side of head, thus crushing his temporal bone and possibly killing him, Kenshin, using his shorter stature to his advantage, ducked beneath the punch and caught the right side of his step-father's chest against the ball of his left shoulder. As he absorbed the concussing force of the lunge with his left knee, Kenshin braced his right foot firmly behind him, twisted himself sharply at the waist bringing his right shoulder around in a hard roll, and smashed his squarely clenched fist dead-on into the center of Hiko's heavily muscled center of gravity with all of the leverage he possessed as well as the power he had absorbed from Hiko himself.   
  
"EEEEEEEEEEEYYAAAAAAAAAA!!!"   
  
THHUUDDD!!  
  
"AARROOOFFFFFF!!"  
  
WHAMMP!!  
  
  
  
The incredible mass of Hiko Seijuro sailed backwards through the air coming to rest in a hard impact on the old wood floor about ten feet away from Kenshin, who was standing still as a statue frozen in contact stance, his eyes blown open wide into fiery golden orbs and his mouth trembling as if he were standing in chilled ice water.  
  
What happened next happened in a flurry of blurred bodies and muted colors.  
  
Kaoru swiftly handed Cleo to a gapping Soujiro who took her in his shaking arms.  
  
Saitou yelled for Ruakii to go and call the Police as he leapt forward and rushed toward the fallen Hiko.  
  
Dharma Himura stumbled in midstride as the shock of her son's action against his step- father exploded in her mind, and as she dropped to the floor in a dead faint, Tokio ran quickly to her side.  
  
And then Kenshin was slumping to his knees in a state of post shock induced exhaustion his head drooping dangerously close to the floor, but before he could topple over completely, he was seized in the strong, wildly frightened embrace of his one beloved, his Mesu Tora, who pulled him back up and crushed him against the steadiness of her young body.  
  
"Kenshin???" Kaoru cried his name in an anxious voice as she felt him go limp against her. "Kenshin?? Are you all right?? Kenshin?!" No response came from him and she gathered him up even closer into her arms until she had his face pressed against the curve of her neck. "It's all right, Baby..." She crooned to him as she began rocking him back and forth while stroking the back of his head. "It's all over... and you are Ok... Cleo is Ok too... You did it, Sweetie... You beat him... You beat him... You did it." Over and over she assured and reassured the limp red-headed form draped over her shoulder even as tears began to slide down her cheeks. She still could not believe what she had just seen. It had been like watching something out of a movie, and that was about how much control she had felt like she had over the situation. But as helpless as she had felt then, she felt a hundred times more helpless now.   
  
"Is he Ok, Kaoru?" Slowly she looked up and met the dark concerned eyes of Ruakii Saitou as he knelt down in front of her and her precious burden. "Do you need some help?"  
  
"He's... He's gone unconscious I think..." She sounded so small Ruakii felt a squeeze in his gut that soon formed an unwanted lump in his throat.  
  
"Yeah... He's pretty much out it looks like... Why don't you let me help you... I'll pick him up and we can take him back to the dorm, Ok?"  
  
"Ok..." Her huge blue eyes gazed at him with such a look of helplessness Ruakii knew he was doing the right thing. He was still reeling from the shock of what had just happened himself. He had never seen anything like that before in his life... at least not in a real fight. The way that Kenshin had used that big man's own power against him and leveled him like a pile-driver had been nothing short of 'sweet', and it was in that moment that Ruakii knew he would never be as good as Kenshin and he did not want to try to be anymore. Now he knew why Kenshin trained so hard, why he was such a cold hard ass, and why concentration was such a big deal to him. If Ruakii had to live with the thought of having to face what Kenshin had just faced, then maybe being as good as him would be important again, but he did not have to face what Kenshin just had. He did not have to worry about living with that kind of an animal in his house, and he did not have to worry about protecting himself or his little sister. In the space of only a few moments, Ruakii Saitou's opinion of Kenshin Himura had completely changed, and a respect he thought he would never feel for the aloof sarcastic red-head had finally grown within his soul.  
  
Kenshin was a real warrior. He knew what it meant to fight for a reason... a REAL reason. No wonder Ruakii had never been able to goad him into a fight. He had worse things to deal with and worry about than punk fights and petty rivalries.  
  
Carefully Ruakii bent down and maneuvered Kenshin's unconscious body over his shoulder and then stood up lifting it up with him. After making several adjustments, he turned and motioned for Kaoru to follow. As they passed, Soujiro fell in behind them, Cleo still held snugly in his arms her little face awash with tears of fear and anguish. She had witness most of the engagement from Kaoru's arms despite the girls attempt to prevent it, and although she had not cried out or screamed, her little body had shuddered uncontrollably until it was all over.  
  
"Is Kensh-shin dead, Soujiro?" She asked in a terrified whisper as they followed the boy who was carrying their brother.  
  
"No, baby. He's not dead... don't even think that way." Soujiro gently wiped her face and kissed her cheek. "He's just.... sort of sleeping, but he's going to be Ok, so don't you worry or anything. I promise he is going to be Ok."  
  
"Promise?" Rounded blue eyes searched his face as she sniffled and bit her lower lip in worry.  
  
"I promise... cross my heart." And he made the motion so she could see. "Ok?"  
  
"Ok...but I'm still scared... what about Papa?"  
  
"I don't want you to think about Papa right now, Cleo... I don't want you to think about Papa at all. Understand?" Serious blue-gray eyes looked steadily into her small worried face. "Papa doesn't matter right now... Only Kenshin matters... And he is all I want you to think about... Got it?"  
  
"Got it." She buried her nose against his cheek and chin and hugged him close. "I love you, Soujiro."  
  
"I love you too, Baby." He rubbed his face against her nose and squeezed her little body. "I love you too... and so does Kenshin. You remember that, Ok?"  
  
"I do... I remember, Soujiro. I love him too."  
  
"That is good, Baby. That is really good."  
  
"Soujiro?"  
  
"What Cleo?"  
  
"Can I stay here and live with you and Kenshin?"  
  
"I don't know, Baby..." Soujiro felt the burn of emotion crawl through his chest as he thought of letting her go back to Denton with their parents. "I don't know."  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Saitou knelt beside the stunned form of Kenshin's step-father looking into the glazed dark green eyes waiting for the man to regain his rational thought so he could find out if he were all right or not. Ruakii it seemed, had tossed his cell phone to Tomoe who had called 911 and reported the fight and the Police were on their way. He could hear the sirens already.  
  
"You evil sonofabitch..." He muttered under his breath as he looked up and considered the fallen form of Dharma Seijuro where she had fainted in the middle of the hallway on her way to try and save her son from the hammering fists of his step-father. "What sick twisted games have you been playing with these two the last 3 years? What did you threaten her with that made her agree to putting Kenshin in here and then basically abandoning him? What the hell did you do?"  
  
On the floor beside him, Hiko began to moan and move. "Wh-whaat the h-hell..."  
  
"I wouldn't be moving around too much if I were you, Mr. Seijuro. At least not until we find out whether or not you're hurt."  
  
"Hurt?" Hiko raised his head a couple of inches off the floor and sharply shook it as if trying to clear it of some sort of a fog. "I am not hurt." He growled and tried to set up, but then moaned painfully and clutched his chest. "Damn... maybe I'll have to rethink that. What the hell happened?" He asked with mild confusion in his deep voice as he gingerly lowered himself back to the floor.  
  
"You don't remember?" Saitou gazed at the larger man suspiciously.  
  
"Remember? Remember what?"  
  
"The fight you just had with your son, Mr. Seijuro."  
  
"Fight? What are you talking about, a fight?" Thin black eyebrows furrowed angrily as emerald eyes snapped with accusation. "I would never fight with Soujiro, so just exactly what are you inferring Master Saitou?"  
  
"I was not referring to Soujiro, Mr. Seijuro... I was referring to Kenshin. You just had a fist fight with your oldest son right here in the hallway of Ive Payne... Do you remember NOW?"  
  
"With Ken...?" Saitou watched as the confusion and anger slowly disappeared from the big mans eyes as was replaced by the realization that he had indeed just had a fight with his oldest step- son... in front of more than a dozen witnesses... and he had lost.  
  
"Ahhhhh, I see, you DO remember... perhaps you would allow me to help you up now. It would appear the only injury you sustained was some deep bruising around your sternum. It does not appear you hit your head when you landed, and that was my main worry. You did fly several feet before hitting the floor, you know."  
  
"I-I did?" Hiko looked up into the thin face of the School Master just in time to catch the fleeting look of pride and appreciation before it was replaced with his usual mask of plain indifference.  
  
"Indeed, you did. I estimate at least eight or ten feet. So, you really are quite lucky you did not slam your head when you landed. Quite lucky. It was a hellofa punch."  
  
"Are those siren's I can hear?" Hiko asked as the high-pitched whine reached his ears.  
  
"Yes Sir. We called the Police. They should be here any moment now."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Excuse me?" Saitou raised a questioning brow at Hiko's statement as he helped the larger man carefully stand up. "Why do you say that?"  
  
"Because I want to press charges against that wild animal for assaulting me."  
  
"Assaulting 'you'?" The astonishment in Saitou's voice was so profound that Hiko turned and looked at him indignantly.  
  
"Yes, assaulting ME." He brushed some dust off the sleeves of his tan trench coat as he eyed the dozen or more teens that were gathered around silently watching with their large bewildered eyes. "He struck me while I never laid a single finger on him. In my book, that qualifies as assault. Plus, he refused to return my daughter to me... I could almost accuse him of kidnaping as well." Cold green crystals turned to meet the angry confusion of Saitou's topaz gaze as Hiko nonchalantly straightened his cuffs and collar. "Indeed, I could have Kenshin arrested for several gross violations of his parole which would land his insolent little ass right in the county jail."  
  
"Not without witnesses you can't." Saito spoke very smoothly and very coldly bringing Hiko's gaze back to his face. "I won't let you."  
  
"You have no say in the matter, Master Saito. It is my word against your's, and since I am the one who is injured and Kenshin is obviously untouched... the case is simple. He assaulted me."  
  
"He was defending himself."  
  
"Was he?" A cruel smile curled Hiko's mouth as he fixed his tie. "We'll see."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ruakii laid Kenshin down on his bed and Kaoru gently fixed a pillow under his head. Bitting her lip in worry, she tenderly reached out to smooth some of the tangles of red out of his pale face. He had expended so much energy trying to remain calm, trying to concentrate, trying to remain in control that he had completely over taxed his body and mind to the point of total shut down, and she wondered how long it would take for him to recover. How long would it take for him to wake up? Concern and helplessness congealed in her chest threatening to cut of her air as she carefully sat down next to him and placed her hand against his cold cheek.  
  
"Kenshin?" She whispered his name brokenly as her thumb stroked against his skin. "It will be Ok, Sweetie... You are going to be Ok... I'm here, Soujiro is here, and so is Cleo. We are all here, so it's all right if you rest now, you did what you had to do, and it's Ok if you rest... so you rest, Baby. We will be here when you wake up. I promise." And then she leaned down to him and pressed a soft kiss against his still lips and another to his cheek. "I promise I'll be here when you wake up, Baby... I promise I will." Then Kaoru stood up and turned to look at Soujiro and Ruakii. "I have to go back out there for when the Police come. Somebody has to stay here with him...?"  
  
"I wanna stay... let me stay, please let me stay. I'll be quiet, I promise... Please??" Cleo's little voice was filled with entreaty as her round blue eyes searched Kaoru's pale face. "Please let me stay."  
  
"Of course you can stay, Kitten." Kaoru held her arms out for the little girl, and as Soujiro handed her over, Cleo's little arms wound themselves tightly around Kaoru's neck. "But you can't leave the room. You have to stay right here with Kenshin. Will you do that, Kitten? Will you promise to stay right here while the three of us go back up to the school?"  
  
"Yes... I promise I won't go anywhere... I won't leave Kenshin for even one minute."  
  
"That is my good girl." Kaoru hugged the precious little red-haired Angel and kissed her cheek. "I know Kenshin would be so happy to wake up and find you with him."  
  
"Really?" Hope shone from the rounded pools of midnight blue as they stared into Kaoru's glittering sapphires. "Would he really be happy to see me?"  
  
"Yes Kitten... You know he would. So why don't you climb up there next to him and snuggle close and go to sleep. I think you are a little tired too, aren't you?" Cleo nodded her head and tried to hide a yawn that automatically stretched her mouth open at the mention of sleeping. "I thought so." Kaoru smiled and kissed the little girl again. "Here you go," She said as she deposited the warm bundle onto the bed next to Kenshin and watched as Cleo snuggled up next to her brother and laid her head on his chest. "You go to sleep now, everything is going to be Ok."  
  
"Ok." Cleo nodded and yawned widely again then let her eyes close. It would not be long until she would be asleep. It had been a very long day for the little one. Very long indeed.  
  
Closing the door with a subtle 'click', the three teenagers quietly left the room and headed back to the main building where all of the adults were. As their feet raced across the snow covered grass, they could hear the sound of the Police siren's getting closer, and a feeling of anxiousness and determination began to grow deep within Kaoru's heart. Kenshin. They were coming for Kenshin.  
  
'I won't let them take you away, Kenshin.' She vowed to him inside her mind as her feet flew across the ground. 'I won't let them have you again. I won't let this happen again. I swear it to you, My Kodora. I won't let them do this to you again... I will fight for you every step of the way, and I will not let them have you. 'HE' will not make what happened today your fault, and I won't let them blame you for this... I swear I won't. I'll make them understand... I'll make them see... I promise you, Kenshin. It's my turn to protect you, and I won't fail... I promise you I won't fail.'  
  
It seemed that in the face of Kenshin's personal war, and the recent battle he had just fought, that the quiet frightened mouse that had been Kaoru Kamiya was beginning to evolve into something much more powerful. Her own pain and trouble was being pushed aside as she placed her 'Kodora's' needs before her own. Kenshin needed her. He needed her to be strong for him. He needed her to fight for him while he could not fight for himself, and as the true spirit of the Mesu Tora was born within her heart, Kaoru flew on the wings of an Avenging Angel with every determination to protect her beloved Meito.  
  
  
  
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A/N: Hmmmm...One has to set and ponder now... why does Kaoru seem 'familiar' to Hiko, and why does it cause him grief and anger that she is with Kenshin? And why is it imperative for him to get them apart at any cost? And where do Soujiro, Cleo, and Dharma fit into all of this tangled mess? Sooo many questions...so few clues... This 'fight' is long from over, and the Somber Man is far from being out of the picture. Old habits die hard, and revenge is best served cold. Halloween is nigh, and the hour of Samhain is almost upon us. Does 'Love' really conquer all?   
  
Please read and review… this was actually a very difficult chapter to write. It is one of those dang transition chapters that you have to write in order to move from one aspect of a story to another… they are a real pain, but necessary. And yes……. The dance is stiiiillllll coming…. And lots of surprises with it. Not all of them are good either. Wink. ~~~~~~~~~~~poof* Tsuki-san 


	12. Facing Your Demons

A/N: Another transition type chapter. There are just so many things that need to happen in a very short period of time and it is really starting to bug me that it is taking so long to get through it. GRRRR! But it can't be helped. Things can only happen so fast… you can't rush the time factor, and you can't rush how fast the human being can move through it, so we are stuck until this particular event has worked its way out. AND yes… the dance is still going to happen… but all of this is a necessary set-up for WHAT has to happen during and after the dance--pre and post all hallow's eve. ^_~ So, remember, it is still like only 5:30 or so in the afternoon on Halloween day, and everyone is still standing in the hallway of the school just outside of the Gym where the dance is supposed to be… the entire (or most of) Senior class, and a smattering of Juniors who were 'drafted' to help out with the decorating, Master Saitou, his wife, Hiko, and Dharma. The teenagers are on their way back from Kenshin's dorm; ie: Ruakii, Kaoru, and Soujiro. They left a sleeping Kenshin and Cleo together in his room after he plowed his dear old 'daddy'.  
  
So, just to bring everyone up to speed, so no one is confused… that is where everyone is right now… and the police are on the way (summoned by dear Tomoe after Ruakii threw her his cell phone)… but, I want to remind everybody about our much beloved and possibly forgotten ghostly couple residing in the lighthouse… we are not threw with them yet. There is still so much let to do… so much left to happen… geez, this story could go on for another 10 chapters… damn. That is almost depressing. I hope everybody is ready for a bumpy ride, because that is what we are in for. Just thought I'd let you all know where we're going. ^_! Just in case there were some confused souls out there.  
  
Now, on to the fireworks…  
  
"" = conversation  
  
'' = thoughts  
  
Glossary: Kodora=Small Tiger, Oodora=Large Tiger  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
Facing Your Demons  
  
The police sirens could be heard coming closer and closer as their high pitched annoying whines and screams became clearer. It would only be a matter of moments before they descended upon the school, and then, who knew what was going to happen.  
  
Kaoru, Soujiro, and Ruakii ran quickly across the snowy campus racing the sirens trying to beat them to the school. Trying to get there before any more damage could be done to Kenshin's already ravaged psyche. They had to stop that Man, that horrible, abusive Man who was no doubt going to try and blame Kenshin for the whole ordeal that had taken place in the crowded hallway of the school. They could not let that happen. Not again.  
  
"Do you hear that, Master Saitou?" Hiko Seijuro smiled malignantly into the stern face of the thinner man standing just a few feet away from him. "That is the sound of the end of my son's enrollment in your school."  
  
"We'll see about that, Mr. Seijuro. We will just see about that." The boiling inside of Saitou was unlike anything the Martial Arts Teacher had ever experienced. He wanted to reach out and tear this man's head off and piss down his throat, but he knew he had to hold him temper if he was going to have a chance with this one. After watching the interaction between Kenshin and this asshole, Saitou was even more resolved in the belief that Kenshin was innocent, but he was also beginning to feel something else that he had not bargained for.  
  
Paternal outrage.   
  
Suddenly he felt like the Father who needed to jump in the middle of the fight and protect his off-spring from being hurt, from being used, from being blamed. He wanted to protect Kenshin... and his younger siblings. ?What the hell am I getting myself into?'  
  
Several feet down the hallway lay a stunned but conscious Dharma Himura and her large round lavender colored eyes were wide with terror as she listened to the sirens coming closer and closer to the school. Oh God.' She pleaded within her broken heart. Don't let him do this again... not again.'  
  
"Mrs. Seijuro? Are you all right, Ma'am?" Dharma looked up into the soft dark brown eyes of the School Master's wife... what was her name?  
  
"I... I don't... Where is Kenshin?" Frantically she looked around the long hall noticing the apparent absence of her eldest son, and then his younger siblings. "Where are Cleo and Sou?? Where are my children??" Her voice was bordering on hysterical as she tried to scramble to her feet but collapsed to her knees when a wave of dizziness over came her. "Ooooo.... what has happened?"  
  
"Please, Mrs. Seijuro. You really should just sit still for a couple of minutes. You took quite a nasty fall when you fainted, and I think you might have bumped your head. So, just set still, all right. Wait for the dizziness to pass."  
  
"Ok... I mean, thank you." A trembling hand rose and rubbed a sore spot just over her right temple. "Maybe I did bonk my head a little."  
  
"I thought you might have the way you went down like a bag of stones."  
  
"What happened?" Worried violet eyes anxiously searched Tokyo's face as the woman tried to remember what had been going on before she... "Hiko! Oh God! He's going to try and kill Kenshin... You have to stop him, he'll kill him if he doesn't back down... he will, I just know it... please..."  
  
"Shhhhhh, it is all right. You missed all the fireworks, Honey. Kenshin laid the old man out with one hit, and that animal never got the chance to lay a finger on him. He's fine... other than I think he passed out from the stress and shock when it was over."  
  
"Passed out?"  
  
"Yes, my son and Kenshin's girlfriend, Kaoru took him back to the dorm. I am sure he'll be fine, so try not to worry. He's a good boy. Strong... stronger than most his age."  
  
"Yes, I know..." The voice trailed off with the ring of humiliation and self-loathing. "He always was." Tokyo gently stroked the woman's flaming hair off her pale face and noticed the scar of a long cut running down her left cheek. It had long since turned white, but it was over three inches long as it ran from the corner of her eye outward along her cheekbone.  
  
Gently touching it with the tip of her fingers, Tokyo asked in a soft voice. "What happened?"  
  
"I didn't have his laundry done." It was an absently spoken answer that pulled hard at Tokyo's heart and soul as she gazed with more intensity at the pained yet empty face of Kenshin's mother.  
  
"Why didn't you leave?"  
  
"Kenshin... Cleo... Sou... He would have thrown Kenshin and I out on the streets and never let me see the other two again... he would have abandoned us with nothing but the clothes on our backs."  
  
"But you have rights..."  
  
"He's a lawyer... he has lots and lots of friends who are lawyers. I would have gotten nothing and my children would have been the ones to suffer the most. He isn't always bad, you know." Dharma cast a short glance at the woman kneeling beside her. "Only when Kenshin was at  
  
home... then it was World War III every day."  
  
"Kenshin wouldn't give in, would he?"  
  
A harsh laugh passed through the red-haired woman's lips before she chocked on a dry sob. "No, he was too much like his real Father in that area. He always had to protect everybody else no matter what happened to him, and there were so many times I was afraid.... I thought... I..."  
  
"You thought your husband was going to kill him before he stopped beating him?"  
  
"Yes..." It was the ragged cry of a tortured soul, and the violet eyed woman who had given Kenshin his beautiful exotic looks dropped her head in shame and let the tears slide freely down her face.   
  
"Well, we are not going to let that happen again, are we?" Dharma's head snapped up at the sound of a young angry feminine voice, and found herself looking into the glittering diamond sapphires of Kaoru Kamiya. "Kenshin has been through enough at the hands of that... that... that animal, and WE are not going to let that MAN feed him to the police... ARE WE?"  
  
"I... we... what?"   
  
"Come on, Lady. Get a hold of yourself." Suddenly the chirping voice of Kenshin's self- designated savior was harassing Dharma from the other side as Misao Machimaki squatted down next to her and shoved her sharp indignant features into her line of vision. "This is your son we are talking about... and he happens to be ?ur' friend, and WE aren't just going to give him up without a fight, so..." Misao looked around and indicated the myriad of faces that now surrounded Dharma on  
  
all sides; Aoshi, Ruakii and Tomoe, Sano and Megumi, Kaoru and Soujiro, and herself. "You are either throwing in with us to protect him from that rotten pig, or you aren't... what's it gonna be?"  
  
Dharma's head was swimming and she felt like she was on the verge of another faint as she stared into first one and then another of the strong young faces watching her with such intense expectation. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought her son would ever have such friends. Friends willing to put up a 'fight' for HIM, but here they were standing around her like she was some sort of circus freak waiting for her to decide if she was willing to fight for him too.  
  
"I-I guess I'm throwing in with y-you." She finally stammered and the group of teenagers around her whooped with victorious excitement. 'Oh my... what have I done?' And as if she had heard the thought slip across Dharma's mind, Tokio leaned over to her and whispered gently,  
  
"You are helping your son, Mom... for the first time, you are really helping him. Be proud, I think he would be."   
  
"What the hell are they all doing down there?" Hiko straightened his tie for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes though he found his attention now occupied more with the commotion going on around his Wife than with the approaching police sirens.  
  
"Dharma!" He called in a sharp voice causing the small red-haired woman to jerk around violently in response. "What are you doing? Come here, Darling."  
  
"It is your choice, Mom..." Soujiro's beautiful blue-gray eyes held hers as he tenderly helped her to her feet, while casting a furtive look in his Father's direction. "Time for you to choose."  
  
"Soujiro! What the hell is going on down there? Get your Mother and the both of you come here... Now." The implication and threat were obvious if not implied and both hung in the silence of the old hallway like the gossamer of spider webs clinging to every nook and cranny seen yet unseen.  
  
"Just a minute, Dad..."   
  
"No 'just a minute' young man. I said, come here now, and I meant it. Get away from those people and bring your Mother with you."  
  
"What's wrong Seijuro?" Sarcasm and dislike dripped from Saitou's voice as he moved to stand beside the bigger man. "Afraid they aren't going to obey you this time? Ehh? Afraid the old power-hand is slipping a little bit after the Kodora slapped your ass down with one hit?"  
  
"What did you call him?" Hiko's voice hissed out between clenched teeth as he turned a malevolent looked onto the smirking school master.  
  
"Kodora... You know what that stand for, Yes?"  
  
"What are you talking about? It's his middle name, and that is all it is... nothing more."  
  
"You so sure about that, MISTER Seijuro? Are you even aware it has a meaning?"  
  
"It's a fucking name..."  
  
"It means 'Small Tiger' in Japanese. The word 'Oodora' means 'large Tiger'. I wonder, does that name have any meaning for you, MISTER Seijuro? Oodora? Wasn't that Kenshin's REAL Father's middle name? Hmmmmm?"  
  
Swinging away from the sarcastic innuendo's that the school master was trying to feed him, Hiko once more shouted at his son and wife, but, oddly, they remained standing where they were.  
  
"Mom?" Soujiro looked deep into his step-mothers haunted violet eyes as he gripped both of her shoulders in his hands. "What are you going to do? What are WE going to do? He's waiting and you know he's not going to wait much longer..." A frown of angry sadness turned the young mans well shaped mouth as he felt a tremor of pure fear quake though the petite frame of the woman he had called Mother for more than 13 years, and a rise of righteous fury began to boil with in him.   
  
"I'm not going," Her voice was so small and so quiet that Soujiro had to strain to hear her as she spoke, but the words themselves were very clear as was their meaning.  
  
"You are going to have to say that to Him, Mom... Say it to Him." Another shiver flooded though the small woman and he wrapped a strong comforting arm around her shoulders pulling her up against his side. "It is Ok... You are not alone anymore. You don't have to do it alone anymore. There are a lot of people who know now, and he can't get away with it this time. I won't let him."  
  
"Neither will I." Kaoru took Dharma's hand in her's and squeezed it tightly.  
  
"Neither will we." The chorus of Kenshin's friends spoke in overlapping tones, but each of them was there behind her. She could feel them, and then, appearing on the other side of Soujiro with a determined look on her lovely face, was Tokio Saitou.  
  
She was not alone.  
  
At that moment, four uniformed policemen walked through the doors and came to an abrupt halt. It looked like the last stand at the Alamo or something to them the way all these people were divided up. What the hell was going on here?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Ahhhhhhhh, shit..." Kenshin raised a heavy hand to his forehead and rubbed absently at the dull ache he could feel forming between his eyes. ?reat!' He thought sourly. 'Another fucking headache. That is all I need right now. Just one more thing to make my life that much more unpleasant.' Gritting his teeth, he decided that finding something to take for it before it got out of control and turned into a migraine might be a good idea so, he gingerly started to roll over onto his side when he found himself impeded by a heavy weight on his chest. "What the..." Then his eyes blew open wide as he took in the tumble of curling brilliant red locks that was spreading over his arm and shoulder. It was just a shade or two brighter than his own color, but it would probably get a little darker as she got older just like his had.  
  
Lost in a state of total wonderment and awe Kenshin gazed disbelievingly at the angelic beauty of the sleeping little girl who was snuggled tightly up against his side, her head pillowed in the curve of his shoulder. Her skin was pale pink and flawless as fine porcelain, and the dark-brown eyelashes that whispered upon her flushed cheeks were in a stark contrast to her fairness. She was so small laying next to him, yet so huge when compared to his memories of the last time she had slept next to him.  
  
He could remember a bottle being propped up on his chest, and a fuzzy pink cat, named 'Sam' clutched tightly in her chubby baby arms... and that blanket. That horrible, rotten blanket that had to be with her everywhere she went. Smiling, he recalled how many times they had set on a chair in front of the dryer waiting for that said blanket after their Mother had finally pried it out of sticky hands and washed it. By then it could usually stand up by itself. A low rumble of laughter echoed with him as he remembered how anxious the little-one would get when it seemed to take forever for the dryer to stop and the blanket could be retrieved. 'I wonder where that old thing is now?' He thought with wry amusement. 'Crumbled away to dust no doubt... it was so old and well-worn.' Unnoticed by him, his arm gently tightened around the precious Angel sleeping beside him so peacefully beside him holding her close and then resting his cheek upon the downy softness of her hair.   
  
"So long..." It was a whisper of feathers that brushed through the Angel's hair as he spoke. "So very long." And he turned slightly so he could press tender, loving kisses into the tangled mane of golden-red. "I missed you so much, Poppet... so much." His voice grew chocked and rough as a wave of longing and pain swept over his soul, and the tears of his solitary loneliness burned behind the fringe of his thick brown lashes threatening to spill as he wrestled to maintain his control over his emotions, but someone was listening, and tears were filling the crystal clear sweetness of her round blue eyes as well.  
  
"I missed you too, Kenshin." Cleo reached out across her brother's chest and wrapped her little arm around him as best she could squeezing him while she moved up and pressed her face against his warm neck. "I don't want you to ever go away again, Ok? Please say that you won't ever go away again? Please? Please?" Tiny little sobs began to shake her little body and Kenshin at last lost his grip on his emotions giving in to the grief and longing that he had kept so tightly bottled up inside of him since he had been sent away from home.  
  
"I never wanted to leave, Cleo... It was not my choice, Baby. I wanted to stay... I wanted to stay with you and Sou... and Mom. But I couldn't... I just couldn't." He tried hard to swallow past the lump in his throat, but found it to be impossible. It was just too big and he ended up chocking on a sob that shook the both of them. The fact that her big brother was so sad and was crying again seemed to upset the little girl very much, and she pushed herself up off his chest so she could look into his face her own tears forgotten. A worried frown touched her tender mouth and she reached out to cup his face in her small hands trying to wipe away his tears.  
  
"Please don't cry, Kenshin... Please don't cry. It will all be Ok. You'll see. We will figure everything out, and everyone will be able to stay here with you... except Papa." Dark blue eyes narrowed in anger and pain as Cleo thought about her Father and what had happened in the school. "He was bad to you today. He said mean things and he was bad. I don't like Papa anymore. I want to stay here with you. Can I? Please, Kenshin? Can I stay here with you? Sou, Mama and Me... we could all stay here with you and we could be a family again, and YOU could be the Papa."  
  
"Oh Baby," Kenshin chocked back another sob and sat up pulling the little girl firmly into his arms, and cradling her against his heart, buried his face in her soft neck and the tumble of curls resting there. Then he cried. He cried like he had that morning with Kaoru only these were not happy tears that slid down his face. But he had no more control over these than he had had over the others, and he just let them come. "I love you, Poppet."   
  
"I love you, too." Her little arms were wrapped tightly around his neck and she was hanging on to him for dear life. He was here again and she was not going to let go. Not ever. "Does this mean I can stay?" The innocent question brought a new flood of tears as well as another round of gentle chuckles from the beloved brother that held her so close.  
  
"I don't know, Cleo... I don't know what is going to happen, but I promise you one thing..."  
  
"What?" She asked as she pulled far enough away to look into his moist purple eyes.  
  
"I'm not leaving you again, no matter what happens... I'm not ever going to leave you again."  
  
"You promise??" Anxious blue diamonds searched his serious features as her small hands cupped his face once more.  
  
"I promise... I'll find a way... somehow, no matter what, I will find a way." Eyes glowing violet-gold rose to look up at the ceiling as Kenshin pulled his little sister back against his chest and wrapped his arms securely around her small body. 'I will find a way.' He thought fiercely. 'I will.'  
  
His headache was completely forgotten.  
  
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"All right, somebody better be telling me what the hell is going on in here... School Master?" The rough voice of Sargent Randy Thomas sounded like sandpaper on cement as he suspiciously surveyed the odd scene of people gathered in the hallway of the high school. They had received an urgent report of a fight going on at the private school, and he and his partner, Ben Foster, had been the closest black and white in the area so they had responded first. Close behind them had been Martin Hail and his Rookie partner, Lexie Monk. The four of them had met up in the parking lot at just about the same time so they were making a fairly good show of force by all walking in together, but what they walked into just was not 'jiving' with the report that had crackled over the radio.  
  
"Hey, Sarg..." The husky smoker's voice of Sally Olsen, the precinct dispatch officer had floated sexily over the CB inside the patrol car drawing both men's attention immediately. They had looked at each other and exchanged knowing smiles because it was a well-known fact that everyone in radio range would be listening as well. The buxom, attractive red-heads voice was infamous among the patrol units because of its deep throaty quality.   
  
"Like satin on silk... don't it just get you hot... damn!" A lascivious grin had crossed Ben's face as they waited for Sally to contine.  
  
"Hey," Randy thumped him sharply in the arm though he was grinning too. "She is a sweet lady... don't talk about her like that." Rubbing his arm, Ben had laughed in the face of his superior's semi-outrage. It was NOT a well-known fact that the Sargent and the Dispatcher had been dating for a couple of months, and the ?'sexy voice' jokes were not as funny as they used to be, but Ben could still get away with one every now and then.  
  
"What ya got for me, Sal?"  
  
"There is some sort of a disturbance going on over at Ivy Payne High... sounds like a fight."  
  
"A fight?" Randy and Ben exchanged annoyed and disbelieving glances. "Those snotty rich kids don't know how to fight.... are you sure?"  
  
"That's what the caller said... that some kid was getting it from his old man."  
  
"Are you shitting me, Girl?"  
  
"RANDALL..."  
  
"Ahhh... sorry..." Randy actually blushed. Everybody knew Sally hated bad language over the radio and was not adverse to admonishing anyone about it. Even the brusque Sargent. "Ahhh, we'll go check it out... Car 317 out." Then he had looked into the smirking face of his partner and slugged him even harder than before. "You shut your mouth, Ben. I swear to God... You say one fucking word and I'll..."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... just drive." Much to the Sargent's displeasure, Ben had silently chuckled all the way to the school.  
  
Now, Randy, Ben, Martin, and Lexie stood in the congested hallway trying to piece together what could possibly have happened. It did not look like a fight. It looked more like a stand off.  
  
"Master Saitou?" He spoke again looking for the tall slender man who was the Head Master, and someone he had known for more than 10 years.  
  
"Sargent Thomas." Randy's light green eyes narrowed as he watched the thin faced man separate himself from the crowd of students and approach him.  
  
"You wanna tell me what the hell is going on here, Master?" The intelligent lime green gaze of the Policeman met and held the sharp topaz eyes of the Educator as he folded his arms across a muscle heavy chest. "I got a call that some kid was up here duking it out with his old man... Is that what's going on here because it sure looks a lot more like the beginnings of fucking riot."  
  
"I know what it looks like, Sargent, but if you will allow me a moment to explain, I am sure you will under...."  
  
"Officer," The great booming voice of Hiko Seijuro interrupted whatever Saitou was going to say as the big dark-haired man rudely walked up to the pair and shoved his nose into the middle of their conversation. "I think I would be much better in giving you the details of this 'Incident' since I was personally involved, and the School Master here," He waved an absent hand of ignorant dismissal toward Saitou failing to notice the suspicious shift in the Sargent's gaze as it moved to him.  
  
"Is that so, Mr...."  
  
"Seijuro, Hiko Seijuro. I am a Corporate Lawyer from Denton. My... son has been a student here at Ivy Payne for the last three years."  
  
"I see, go on." Saitou was watching Sargent Thomas carefully and he could see the intelligent Policeman taking stock of the arrogant blow-hard in front of him. "You said ?ou were involved in the said 'Incident'. Am I to gather the other said party to be this son of yours?"  
  
"Of course. You are very astute." A dry smile curved the thin lips as Hiko jammed his hands into the pockets of his expensive trousers.  
  
"Why, thank-you, Mr. Seijuro. We do try down here in these little out of the way places, although I am sure our methods are nothing to compare to those up in New York." The pleasant friendly smile Randy was wearing nowhere near reached his eyes as his ?'senses' began to tell him just what sort of a 'man' he was dealing with here. "Why don't you tell me what happened with you and your son." Of course, he had noticed the hesitation, however slight that the other man had inadvertently used when initially speaking about the young man in question, and THAT had immediately caught the Officer's attention.  
  
"He's always been an unruly boy... difficult to control, I am sure you understand."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"We had a slight... eh, argument, and he rebelled against my authority just as he always did and it caused a... ahhh, altercation in which he struck me."  
  
"He struck you?" A faint note of skepticism crept into the Policeman's voice as he eyed the other man. "I find that difficult to believe, Mr. Seijuro, considering your size. Just exactly how old is your son? 16? 17? He could not possibly be large enough to inflict much damage on you."  
  
"Oh, on the contrary, Officer. Kenshin is quite skilled in Karate and he used that against me quite viciously. Threw me to the ground he did. He might have even broke a rib or two."  
  
"Broke a rib?" The skepticism was growing, and Randy was starting to become impatient with the arrogant Lawyer in front of him. "You don't look like you are in much pain, Sir, if I say so myself."  
  
"I hide it well."   
  
"I'm sure." Turning to his three comrades, Randy motioned for them to join him. "Lexie, I want you to find this Kenshin kid and get him over here..."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Ben, start talking to these students and see if anybody saw anything they are willing to talk about."  
  
"Sure thing, Sarg."  
  
"Marty, I want you to take Mr. Seijuro's statement while I talk to Head Master Saitou here and get his side of the story."  
  
"You got it..."  
  
"That really is not necessary, Officer. I have told you everything you need to know."  
  
"I am sure you think so, Mr. Seijuro, but down here in the boonies, we do stuff a little different than you do in the big city. We try to get ALL the facts before we go carting people of to jail... especially kids."  
  
"Perhaps you do not understand ?HO' my son is, Officer." The 'know-it-all' sound to Hiko's voice brought the irritated look of the Sargent's face back around to him, and he let a smile of pure satisfaction curl his thin lips. "I thought not. Might I enlighten you?"  
  
"Oh please do. I can hardly wait to hear this."  
  
"Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Officer. If you do not perform your function here to my liking, I will have no qualms about reporting you to your commanding officer."  
  
"Go ahead, Mister. It wouldn't be the first time." Randy faced the arrogant offensive man. "But I doubt you'd get too far. You see, I don't believe a single word you're telling me, so if you want to make any points with me, threatening me isn't going to win you any brownie prizes."  
  
"Why you insufferable little cretin, how dare you talk to me like that."   
  
"I dare a lot of things, Mister... You might be surprised how many. But if you still got stuff to tell me, spit it out. Otherwise, quit wasting my time 'cause you are really starting to get on my nerves." Hiko's dark green eyes narrowed into splinters of pure hatred as he looked into the immovable planes of the annoyed Sargent's face. He was going to have to be more careful if he was going to make this work out to his advantage. Much more careful.  
  
"Very well, let me enlighten you about Kenshin. Are you aware he already has a criminal record?"  
  
"He's a juvenile... so that is fairly irrelevant unless he killed somebody or something."  
  
"Well, aren't you the perceptive one."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter three years ago after he shot a shop owner to death while trying to rob and vandalize his store."  
  
"Is that so... well, that does tend to shed a little different light on things." Randy scratched his chin as he contemplated this unique turn of events, but he was still unwilling to trust the suave businessman any farther than he could throw him despite the kid having a record. "Ok, I get it... but if your son was convicted of manslaughter like you say, what is he doing here instead of being in a lock-down?"  
  
"Oh, well..." Hiko gave the Sargent his most disarming smile as he launched into his caring father act. "That was my doing. I did not want to see the boy further influenced by the criminal world, and the District Attorney was inclined to agree with me since Kenshin had no priors... so, we sent him here to Ive Payne to set out his four year sentence confined to the schools campus while under constant house-arrest and supervision."  
  
"Interesting idea... and how did it work out?"  
  
"Well, he seemed to be improving, or so we thought... up until today, of course."  
  
"Of course..." The Sargent's intelligence factor had just about had enough of this pious asshole's bullshit, and his irritation was rising swiftly. "Now tell me, if your boy was way over here in Evermore, and you and his Mother were clear up in Denton... who was responsible for the kid?"  
  
"Why School Master Saitou, of course. He and his wife were granted temporary guardianship and custody of Kenshin until he graduates... which would have been this year if he had not violated his probation."  
  
"Violated his probation? Just exactly HOW did your son violate his probation, Mr. Seijuro?"  
  
"He struck me." The smugness in the smooth educated voice made Randy want to vomit all over the man's $400.00 shoes as he tried to fathom just how stupid this jerk thought he was.  
  
"He struck you?"  
  
"Yes. And that is a strict violation of his parole. He is strictly forbidden to engage in any sort of violent physical contact, and if caught, he is liable for arrest and immediate incarceration in the nearest adult facility."  
  
"Adult facility?"  
  
"Of course... he is almost 18. He is most definitely of an age to be held accountable for his actions on an adult level. I am sure you will agree."  
  
"Uh-huh... Tell me, Mr. Seijuro, just exactly who threw the first punch in this so-called altercation? Your son... or YOU?" A feeling of immense satisfaction filled the officer as he watched a flush of pure outrage stain the lean features of the arrogant dark-haired man.  
  
"How dare you!" Rage flared through Hiko's system as he looked into the nonplused gaze of the burly officer standing only a few feet away from him. "Are you insinuating that I attacked my own son?"  
  
"No Sir. I am not insinuating anything... I am down right accusing. BEN?"  
  
"Yeah Sarg?" The other officer trotted back over to his partner. "What do ya need?"  
  
"You got anybody over there who has anything interesting to say about this whole thing?"  
  
"Yes Sir... the whole lot of those kids are all saying the same thing."  
  
"Which is..."  
  
"They saw the red-headed boy holding a little girl who was screaming her head off about not wanting to be handed over to this guy," He gestured to Hiko with his thumb. "And then the kid handed her over to a dark-haired girl they said is his girlfriend."  
  
"Ok... what else."  
  
"After that, all hell broke loose... They say this guy rushed the kid with his fist raised, but the kid jumped out of the way before he could hit him... and then the two of them were talking about something, but nobody could hear what they were saying, but whatever it was, this guy rushed the kid with his fist again. That is when they say the kid 'Dropped him'."  
  
"Dropped him?" Randy turned and looked at his partner skeptically. "Just how big is this kid, Ben?"  
  
"From all the descriptions I got, he's about 5'5" maybe 5'6", 130-145 pounds at the most. He's not a big kid... slender, lean frame."  
  
"And he 'dropped' this guy?"  
  
"Yup. They said he ducked the punch the old man threw at his head and slammed his fist into his chest... said the kid threw this guy a good eight maybe ten feet."  
  
"Jesus..."  
  
"The School Master's boy is over there... He says this kid is the best student in his dad's Martial Arts class and that the move he used on the big guy is designed to use his own force against him."  
  
"I know the move, Ben." A hundred and fifty thoughts were suddenly swirling around inside of the Sargent's brain as he tried to picture a kid that size plowing into a man the size of the one standing next to him. The very idea boggled his mind, but then... didn't that Jet Li movie star guy do it all the time? He wasn't very big either.  
  
"Well, Sargent? Are you going to arrest my son or not?"  
  
"Sounds to me like he was defending himself, Mr. Seijuro. Sounds to me like you're the one who might need a little cool down time in our local gray-bar motel."  
  
"You can't be serious. I never laid a hand on the boy."  
  
"Not for want of trying, did you?" Hiko's face suddenly began to take on a very sickly ashen quality. Something was not going right.  
  
"He refused to return my daughter to me. I had every right to demand his cooperation... and he blatantly refused."  
  
"Uh-huh, and that was deserving of a fist in the head, eh?"  
  
"He needs to learn his place. He has always been an uppity disrespectful boy."  
  
"I'll bet... Ben?"  
  
"Sarg?"  
  
"You seen Lexie yet? I sent her to find that kid."  
  
"Ah, no Sir... I haven't seen her come back. Do you want me to go look for her?"  
  
"Yeah. I really need to talk to that kid."  
  
"Yes Sir." The younger policeman turned and jogged off in the direction of the dormitories where the school master had said the boy was supposed to be.  
  
"I demand to know what you are going to do about this, Officer. Kenshin is in direct violation of his parole and I want him arrested."  
  
"On what grounds?"  
  
"I want to press charges for assault..."  
  
"Why don't you shut the hell up and go stand over there where I don't have to look at you for the time being."  
  
"You can't..."  
  
"The hell I can't... get out of my way and go over there." The angry officer pointed to a vacant space across the hallway where he wanted Hiko to go stand. "I'll let you know if I need anything else from you." Flustered and worrying, Hiko moved away from the irritated policeman and went to stand on the other side of the hall. Things were not panning out the way he had planned them. That they were not.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
She felt like she had check three dozen rooms by the time she knocked on one that actually had someone in it. Carefully opening the door at the muffled 'come-in', Lexie peered into the small room and took notice of the two people setting on the bed. Both had flaming red hair, and the evidence of tears was evident on both of their faces. Upon seeing her uniform, the young man stood up holding the small girl close to him in a very protective manner, his dark violet eyes wary as he faced the young policewoman.  
  
"What do you want with me?" The voice was low toned but clear and steady. "If you have come for my sister, I am afraid I can't let you take her just now." A muscle began twitching in his jaw as he stood his ground defiantly. "You see, I have not seen her for almost four years, and... and I would just like to spend a little more time with her... that is all. I'm not kidnapping her or anything, I just want to see her."  
  
"I'm not here to take your sister away, Kenshin." Lexie tried to sound as reassuring as she could, but noticed that the apprehension and tenseness withing the young man did not waver the slightest fraction. "But I did come to take the two of you back up to the school. My Sargent has some questions he want to ask you about... about what happened between you and your Father."  
  
"He is not my Father." The words were spoken in the coldest voice Lexie could remember ever hearing, and it sent a shiver up her spine as she watched the violet eyes shift and become tinged with gold.  
  
"Excuse me? What did you say?"  
  
"He is not MY Father. He is my step-father... He has never been MY Father."  
  
"Your step-father? We were not aware of that." It was an interesting piece of information, but before she could say anything about it, a tiny voice pipped up and caught her undivided attention.  
  
"Papa is a mean man, and I don't want him to be my Papa anymore. I want Kenshin to be the Papa." Lexie's bright hazel eyes shifted from the cold stern face of the young man, and came to rest on the delicate features of the little angel in his arms.  
  
"What do you mean, sweetie? How is your Papa mean?"  
  
"He does mean things and stuff. He's not a good Papa."  
  
"I know, you said that already, Honey... but what kinds of mean things and stuff does your Papa do? Can you tell me?" Cleo looked up into Kenshin's face anxiously and started to worry her lower lip between her tiny white teeth.  
  
"It is Ok, Poppet. I think you can tell this Lady what Papa does."  
  
"Are you sure, Kenshin? I don't want Papa to get mad at me again. If he does, he'll put in the closet again, and I'm scared of the dark." Kenshin gritted his teeth as a wave of angry frustration washed over his soul, but he just hugged the little body closer to him and kissed her cheek.  
  
"It's Ok to tell, Cleo... I promise I won't let 'him' put you in the closet anymore, Baby. I promise."  
  
"You promise?" He nodded and pressed his forehead against hers for a moment, and then she turned her wide bottomless blue eyes back to the patiently waiting policewoman. "If I tell, you have to promise not to let Papa hurt Kenshin, Ok?"  
  
"I'll do my best, Honey. I promise. I don't think your brother is really in trouble anyway."  
  
"You don't? You mean they aren't going to make him go away again?"  
  
"We'll try our best not to let that happen, Honey, but you need to tell me about your Papa."  
  
"Ok." She wound her little fists into handfuls of her brother's long red hair, squished her cheek up next to his, and then started to talk. "Papa hits things when he's mad... and he throws stuff too. He broke Mama's purple vase with the roses in it one day cuz he was mad. It made Mama cry but he just yelled at her and stuff."  
  
"What else, sweetie? What else does your Papa do?"  
  
"Sometimes he used to hit Mama, but not for a long time, but I remember he hit her lots in the face. Her nose used to bleed and once I found her tooth on the floor, but the tooth fairy didn't come." Large blue pools of childish confusion looked up at Lexie for a moment. "Doesn't the tooth fairy like grown-ups?"  
  
"I-I don't know, Honey. Maybe she saves her presents just for little kids... you know, so they can have something to replace the tooth."  
  
"I guess... Mama never got anything for her tooth. She just threw it in the garbage." A fat round tear slowly began to slide down Kenshin's opposite cheek as he listened to the horrible things his little Angel had been forced to watch when all she should have had to worry about was Sam and her blanket. Lexie was not unaffected either, as she felt a large lump of emotion begin to swell in her throat.  
  
"Does your Papa hit anyone else, Honey? Does he ever hit you?"  
  
"No... Sometimes he hits Soujiro, but he just puts me in the closet when I'm bad. I don't like it in there cuz it's really dark and I'm always afraid the monsters are gonna get me."  
  
"No more monsters are going to get you, Poppet." The young man's voice was deep and husky with his pain as he pressed another kiss against the beautiful little face. "I won't let them get you."  
  
"Are there monsters here, Kenshin?"  
  
"No, Baby. There aren't any monsters here. They have been gone for a long, long time now, and I don't think they will ever come back... so you don't have to worry about monsters while you are here with me, Ok?"  
  
"Ok. Are you going to be the Papa now, Kenshin? Are You?"  
  
"Oh Baby-girl... I don't know what is going to happen, but I guess we better go with this Lady and find out what is going on."  
  
"No!" It was a shrill cry of pure terror and Cleo wound her arms in a strangle hold around her brother's neck bring a squeaked cry of surprise from him as she did. "I don't wanna go back! I don't wanna go!" She sobbed and buried her face in Kenshin's neck. "Papa will try to take me away again, and then he'll hurt you. Please don't make me go, Kenshin. Pleeeeaaase...."  
  
"He will not take you away, Poppet... calm down. I told you I would not let him take you away from me. Please don't cry... please don't cry." His hand began to rub comforting circles around on her shuddering little back as he crooned to her gently. That was all Lexie needed to know.  
  
"Cleo, Honey..." Lexie tentatively approached the terrified little girl who was clinging to her brother like a leech. "I don't think you need to worry about your Papa taking you away from your brother."  
  
"I-I don't *sniffsniff*?"  
  
"No, sweetie. I think that you should stay right where you are for the time being, and that is what I'm going to tell everybody, Ok?"  
  
"Promise?"  
  
"Promise." That seemed to appease the little girl at least somewhat, and she finally agreed that they could go back to the school as long as she could stay with Kenshin. So, after closing the door of his room shut behind them, Lexie led the two siblings out the front of the dorm where they bumped into Ben.  
  
"Hey, Lex... where ya been? The Sarg is waiting for you, he really wants to talk to this kid." Ben's sharp brown eyes quickly assessed the tight emotional faces of the slender red-haired teen and  
  
his young sister, and he really did not like what he saw. Both of them looked exhausted and emotionally worn out. "You look like you've had one hellova day, Kid."  
  
"You could say that." Kenshin attempted a cordial smile in the direction of the new officer, but it was a poor attempt and he finally opted for just nodding in acknowledgment.   
  
"Thought so. Sargent Thomas wants to talk to you, so you need to come with me, Ok?"  
  
"Yes Sir. It's all right if I keep holding my sister isn't it?"  
  
"Sure, Kid... Looks like it would take a hellova crowbar to pry her off anyway." That remark finally succeeded in bringing the hint of a smile to the teens lips, and a wry chuckle rumbled in his chest.  
  
"You have no idea, Officer. You have no idea." Ben grinned at the boy and put a steadying hand on his slender shoulder as he leaned close to his open ear.  
  
"You just might be surprised what I think, Kid. You might be real surprised." Then he winked at the confused look that crossed the young man's face as he motioned for everyone to head back over to the school. "Come on. We better get a move on. The Sarg really hates to be kept waiting."  
  
"Another impatient man... Great." It was the almost imperceptible muttering of disgruntled and tired teenager, and it put smiles on both officer's faces when they heard it.  
  
"You have no idea, Kid. You have no idea."  
  
"You might be surprised, Officer. You might be really surprised." Ben laughed out loud and continued to lead his small entourage back to the school and Sargent Thomas. The Kid was probably right, they all probably would be surprised by what he had going on inside of his head if they knew.  
  
If they only knew.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ok, there it is. I hope it was enjoyable… and I hope everybody feels like sticking around for the rest. I have got so many things planned (up my sleeve--if I had any). I promise you all a lot of mystery, angst, heavy situations, limey's coming up, a lot more romance between Kenshin and Kaoru, a few romantic surprises… a lot of other surprises. Only the tuski-san knows.  
  
Please Review… let me know if you think 10 or more chapter is too much more…  
  
And if any of your are interested… I do have 2 other Kenshin Kaoru fanfictions on ff.net. They are period proper to the series and can be reached from my ff.net authors page. Just click on the highlighted 'Kanzen ne Tsuki' on the top of this page, and scroll to the bottom of the authors page for fiction summaries. Until next time…poof* 


	13. Stand Off

A/N: Hiko get's his.... Oh yes, Oh yes, Oh yes.... ha ha ho ho he he... If any of you are old star trek fans maybe you will understand this quote... it's from the second Star Trek Movie... The Wrath Of Khan...

"Revenge is a dish best served cold... it is very cold in space."

Does anyone know WHO said it FIRST before Khan? Not necessarily a person... Just wondering...

Haruko: Finally! This wonderful fic can have its italics and bold words! Aren't you happy? I know _I_ am, and I'm going to use it as much as it fits the story! Yea!! Rejoice with me! ^_^ Anyhow, do read and review, because beyond the new formatting, we _all_ know that this fic still retains that wonderful zest and brilliant portrayal that we can never get enough of!

Chapter Thirteen: Stand-off

As soon as they reentered the school, Kaoru rushed to Kenshin's side and wrapped worried arms around his waist even as she pressed the warmth of her pale cheek against the cold rosiness of his. "Are you Ok?" It was a quiet whisper meant for his ears only as she pulled back and searched the anxiety ridden violet pools that regarded her from his frozen face.

"I.... I don't know." Her hand reached up to touch his cheek and his eyes closed as he leaned into her touch seeking out the comfort she represented to him. Then he locked gazes with her searching blue eyes and grasped her hand in his. "I'm scared, Kao... I'm really scared." The voice that oozed from his mouth was small and she had to strain to hear it. It disturbed her to see him like this... vulnerable and at the mercy of so many adults who did not seem to understand who he really was, but she was not going to give him up without a fight. 

None of them were. 

If the Police were going to try and take Kenshin away, they were going to have to go through Kaoru, the rest of his friends, his brother, his Mom... and even the Saitous. And Hiko could be damned.

"Don't worry, Baby... we aren't giving in without a fight this time."

"_We_? What are you talking about, Kao? Who is _We_?"

"All of us, Sweetie. All of us... in case you hadn't noticed it, tough guy, you aren't alone anymore." Kaoru tugged on his hand and pulled him over to the right, and as Kenshin turned, he sucked in a breath of pure astonishment.They were all there.Sano and Megumi (looked like she had forgiven him for being such a clutz and a jerk), Misao and Aoshi, Master Saitou and Coach Takagi, and....

"Mom? Soujiro?" The catch in his voice make Kaoru turn to look at him and she found him staring with wide disbelieving eyes at the scene in front of him. "I don't understand... Kao?" He sounded like a small lost child trying to find his way home after being lost for such a long time, and it broke her heart to hear that tone coming from someone who was such a fierce personality.

"Yes, Kenshin... they are _both_ over there, and they are standing together against your step-father... She is standing up to him for you, Kenshin. Your Mother is standing up for **_you_**."

"It can't be..." His head was shaking almost as much as his voice was quivering as the

denial roared through his bloodstream. "She's never..."

"I know, but she is _now_... give her credit for that... try to give her credit for that." Her hand gripped his arm making him look at her. "She told him **no**... to his face, Kenshin... She told that rotten animal 'no' when he told her to leave everyone and come stand by him. She said 'no'."

"She-she did? My Mother stood up to Hiko Seijuro and said... no?"

"Yes."

"I... I don't know what to say." Bewilderment crushed his features as he struggled to come to terms with something that had never happened before. His mother standing up to the 'Beast' and defying his authority on behalf of 'her' son. It had always been his place to stand between Hiko and his Mother... never the other way around, and the thought of this unforseen turn of events staggered him.

"Kenshin?" Cleo raised her head up off his shoulder and cupped his face in her little hand turning it so he looked at her. "Mamma always loved you... she cried a lot when Papa isn't home. I've seen her. I've seen her hold your pictures and cry so I know she loves you and she misses you a lot too." Kenshin's eyes blinked as he fought more tears. He could not remember a time in his life when he had cried so much, and he was determined not to anymore. "Don't you think you could try and love her back again?"

"Ah shit." He muttered under his breath as he rubbed his forehead against hers. "I'll try, Ok... I'll try."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Looking over the top of her brilliant crimson head, Kenshin once more sought out the comforting gaze of the raven haired blue-eyed girl who was becoming the other focal point of his world, and finding the warmth of her blue eyes enveloping him and his sister, he felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Shrugging non-commitally, he gently lowered Cleo to the floor but kept a tight grip on her small hand. As he did so, he noticed a burly looking man with fierce lime-green eyes watching him intently. "That must be Sergeant Thomas."

"It is, are you ready to go talk to him?" Kenshin turned and looked into the patient face of the policewoman who had initially question Cleo in his room, and the reassurance reflected in her gentle hazel eyes helped to bolster his wavering courage.

"I can't make him wait forever, can I?" Lexie grinned at the wistful tone in the younger man's voice, and then shook her head.

"No, I am afraid you can't, Kenshin. The Sergeant would come to you if you tried, and, to tell you the truth... it would be to your advantage to go to him first."

"Impatient Man... I remember." Kaoru's hand squeezed his as she stepped up closer to his side, and as Kenshin looked over at her, he let his gaze slide affectionately over the curves and contours of her face. "You coming?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Her voice was gently chiding as she rubbed her nose against the smoothness of his cheek while her free hand came to rest over his heart.

"I guess not." When she looked up into his eyes, Kenshin gently pressed his lips into the softness of her waiting ones, and they shared a tender and meaningful joining of their souls albeit a short one. "Thank-you, Takuni."

"Your Welcome... Kodora." A chuckle rumbled through him at the sound of his middle name sliding off her tongue in that endearing tone, and he found himself nuzzling the hair on top of her head. Maybe everything would be all right... time would tell.

"Come on... before that behemoth comes looking for me... as if things could get any worse than they already are."

"Kenshin... you are supposed to try and think positive."

"I am?"

"Yes. Now, think positive... you are not the one at fault here. It's that... that... that uncouth beast from Hell over there that is." When she waved in Hiko's general direction, Cleo began to giggle wickedly.

"If Papa heard you say that, he'd be so mad. I bed he'd scream and yell and throw a royal fit." A half frightened glance was shot in the direction of the sulking furious man who stood glowering at the small group as they walked past him, and she moved closer to her brother while quickly averting her eyes. But even if she was a little scared, she still could not help but laugh at the thought of what her Papa would do if he had heard what Kenshin's girl-friend had said. ....giggle "... a hairy-cow..." giggle giggle "... that's it..." gigglegiggle.

"What did you say?" Kenshin leaned down and grinned into Cleo's giggling personage.

"A-a..." giggle ".... hairy-cow..." gigglegiggle. She managed before dissolving into

uncontrollable laughter causing all of the bystanders within earshot to look that way.

"A 'hairy-cow'? Ummmm, Poppet... what's a 'hairy-cow'?"

"Wh-what Papa's gonna h-have if he ever h-hears what K-kao said a-about him b-being a cooth beast from hel..."

"CLEO!" Slapping his hand over her mouth, Kenshin shot a shocked laughter filled look in Kaoru's direction and found her in the same boat he was in. They both burst out laughing. Lexie, who had not heard the exchange, was completely baffled. "Honey, I know it's funny... but that is a really bad word... don't say it anymore, Ok?" Kenshin knelt down in front of the confused little girl trying very hard to keep a straight face and failing miserably.

"But... but Kao said..."

"I know Kao said it... I even say it, but we're older, and that makes it different."

"That isn't fair..."

"Ummm, it's a grown-up word, Poppet."

"You're not a grown-up yet." She began to pout and little sparks of anger began snapping in her dark blue eyes as she glared at her brother. "Can I at least say 'hairy-cow'? Is _that _Ok??"

"Yes." Laughter bubbled in his voice despite his valiant effort to quell it in the face of her 4 year old anger. "You can say 'hairy-cow'."

"Fine." Spinning on the heel of her black shoes (and leaving a skid mark on the floor), Cleo turned around to face the direction they had all be going initially. "Are you coming or not... you old 'hairy-cow'?" At that point Kenshin, Kaoru, and finally Lexie all gave up the battle with their mirth and just laughed. It was just damned hard not too.

"I've seen enough." The loud brusque voice brought them all out of their laughter torture chamber and Kenshin rose abruptly to his feet facing the source. His eyes grew round with nervous apprehension, his heart began to beat a ferocious tattoo against his ribs, and suddenly it was very difficult to breath as he watched the angry looking Sergeant approach him. A tiny squeak of fear sounded somewhere down around his waist and he felt Cleo dodge behind him and wrap her arms around one of his legs. Her terror was a tangible entity clinging to his soul, and the first fingers of his own fear began to snake up his spine but then Kaoru was beside him again lacing her fingers through his and holding on tight.

"It's Ok, Baby." She said into his ear as she pressed up against his side. "Just don't pull the 'tough guy' act on this man... it would _not_ be a good idea. Ok?"

"Yeah." Was that raspy squelching sound his voice?

"You must be tha young Kenshin Himura." The Policeman walked up to the obviously wary red-haired young man and looked him directly in the eye. To his credit, the boy did not so much as bat an eye let alone flinch.

"Yes Sir. I am Kenshin Himura."

"I thought so. I've been waiting to meet you."

"You have? May I ask why?" Stupid question, Himura. Fucking stupid question.

"I wanted to see what kind of a kid it took to sack a 6'4" bag of charging bullshit in one punch... I have to say that I'm even more surprised than I thought I would be."

"E-excuse me, Sir?" What the... did he just say....

"Ben said the kids told him you were sort of a scrawny guy, but your down right thin, boy. How in the hell did you do it? How in the hell did meet 250 pounds of blind rage charging at you and not turn and run like hell? Why didn't you run?"

"Because."

"What?" Randy looked hard at the stoic bland features of the strangest teenager he had ever met trying to figure out what made a kid like him tick. "Because why?"

"I don't run." That's why. You only run if you think you are going to lose.

"You don't run." Scratching his head, he let that simple statement wash through his brain for a couple of minutes before looking into the boys face again. He saw no disguises, no guile, no deceit. He saw nothing but the cold, harsh, and simple truth. "You don't run."

"No Sir. I don't run."

"Why?"

"If you run, it means you are weak and you will eventually die in shame. I would rather die fighting for what I think is right than die running from my own fear." It has always been that way.

"Did he beat you when you lived at home?"

"Does that really have any bearing on what happened today, Sergeant?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact it does. Answer the question."

"Yes."

"A lot?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I wouldn't back down when he thought I should or when he told me too."

"Are those the only reasons... because you had a problem with his authority over you?"

"No." I don't want to talk about this. Please, don't make me talk about this... not in front of everyone.

"What were the other reasons?"

"Sergeant, wouldn't it be better to have this discussion away from so many ears?" Kenshin motioned toward Cleo, Kaoru, and the rest of their unwilling yet captive audience.

"No, I don't think so, Kenshin. I think this is something that has probably been kept hidden for too long already. Now answer the question. What were the other reasons he beat you?"

"I refused to allow him to punish my brother the same way he punished me."

"Are you telling me you took your brother's beatings?"

"Yes Sir."

"Jesus.... Why? Why in the bloody hell would you do that?" Randy raked his gaze over the solemn seemingly composed form of the red head in front of him. "You strike me as having more than average intelligence, so you are no fool. Why would you allow yourself to be beaten so much? You must have know how much danger you put yourself in?"

"Yes, I suppose I did, but that was not the point."

"Then what was?"

"Keeping my family safe."

"Keeping them safe.... you were a child, it was not your responsibility."

"I beg to differ, Sergeant. Before my real Father died, he taught me that a man is forever responsible for those who are entrusted to care by the All Father's, and he is bound by that trust to keep them safe no matter the cost to himself. After he died, it was my job to take care of my Mother, and after she got married again and Soujiro came, I was responsible for him as well. It was always my place to protect them."

"He could have killed you."

"He could have... but he didn't." Not because he didn't try.

"Did you know that every single kid in this hallway has given a statement supporting the fact that your step-father attacked you... twice... seemingly unprovoked, and that you acted completely out of self-defense?"

"What?" Violet eyes grew huge with shock as Kenshin stared at the Policeman who was nodding his head in silent affirmation.

"Every one of them, and they have all said they would testify in court to that effect if he tries to put you jail as well."

"Th-they did?"

"Yup. Looks like you win this time, Kid." A gritty half smile pursed Randy's lips as he reached out and gripped Kenshin's slender shoulder. "You aren't as alone as you thought you were... are you?"

"I... I guess not." An odd look passed over the stoic bland features, and then he was

lowering his face and looking at the policeman's shoes. "I... what is going to happen? I did actually strike him, and that is a violation of my parole." The forthright violet gaze rose to lock with the steady lime-green of the Sergeant's. "I should be arrested for that."

"Should you?"A dark brown eyebrow lifted in mock consideration as the Officer thought about the honesty of that admission. "Well, you are probably right on that particular account, but considering the magnitude of everything that happened prior to, and leading up to the said 'striking of his person', I think my personal judgement is good enough to let you off with a little warning."

"A warning, Sir?" Kenshin looked quickly at Kaoru and then back at the Sergeant

confusion evident across his face. "What kind of a warning?"

"The kind that says, 'That little girl needs you just as much as you need her, maybe more so you keep hugging her close to your heart. That is where she belongs. And I want you to remember that this pretty thing standing next to you walked into the Lion's mouth with you for better or worse which, in my book, makes her a keeper. Keep your brother close to your side and your heart because I think you'll be the best friends either of you will ever have, and, for God's sake, go hold your Mother and tell her you still love her before she has a coronary or a stroke.' That is the kind of warning I'm giving you, Kenshin Himura. You said you're here to protect your family, I say, Ok... but you gotta let them inside so they can help you too. Now go do what I told you to, boy." And Randy gave Kenshin a mild shove in his Mother's direction. That was when he realized she was

huddled in Soujiro's arms sobbing brokenly as if her whole world has suddenly turned to ashes and disintegrated around her. The agony in her heart and soul was so painfully evident that Kenshin did not even feel his feet carry him over to her it just seemed one moment he was standing beside Kaoru and the Sergeant with Cleo wrapped around his leg, and the next he was gently pealing his Mother's trembling arms away from his brother's neck.

"Mom," gentle hands grasped the slightness of her shoulders and turned her around so that she faced him, and then Kenshin let the all the tenderness and love he had ever felt for her fill his eyes as he laid the palm on one hand along the line of her scarred cheek. With the softest of touches he carefully wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb and then tucked her fiery locks behind her ear. "I missed you, Mom, I missed you so much... and I-I'm sorry."

"S-sorry?" Her hands rose to cover his where they cupped her face and she gazed in agony into the gentle depths of his beautiful eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for, my Darling. It is I who betrayed you... I who abandoned you... I... Oh God, Kenshin...." Dharma broke down and began to sob harshly as her guilt poured out into her son's hands. "I th-thought I was d-doing the right th-thing... I thought I-I was s-saving you f-from him... He said h-he w-would put you i-in a real prison if I-I didn't agree t-to send you a-away and c-cut you out o-of our lives... I c-c-couldn't l-let you go t-to a p-place like that... Ken... I couldn't let h-him put m-my baby in a p-place like that... I let him take y-you away fore-ver, so he wouldn't p-put you in a real p-pri-son... I aband-oned you... I-I let you th-think I didn't c-care all this t-time s-so he wouldn't h-hit me any m-more... Oh God Oh God..." She was trying to pull away from him but he would not let her. All of the questions he had asked himself for over three years were finally being answered and he was not about to let her go... not now, not now that she was finally telling him that she had not really meant to leave him... that it had been _Hiko's_ fault that she had agreed to all of this... that she had done it to save him from prison. She had broken both of their hearts to save him from the horrors of that unspeakable world. They had both been sacrificial lambs upon Hiko's alter of everlasting sorrow, and now Kenshin was truly going to make him pay.

"Let m-me go, Ken-shin... please, let me go." 

"No... I-I can't." His arms had ached for so long to hold her, but his anger and his feelings of betrayal and rejection had been so great, he had hardly even allowed her so much as a kiss on the cheek. Cold. Aloof. Distant. She may as well as come to visit one of the trees on the campus as come to see him, and she had known it which is why the visits had never lasted very long. No one was ever very glad to see anyone. Except He and Soujiro. When his brother came, it was a different story, but today... now... everything had changed, and Kenshin wanted his Mother. He wanted her touch, he wanted to feel her hair under his cheek like he when he was little, he wanted to listen to her heart beating beneath his ear, he wanted to feel her kiss on his brow and his face... he wanted her to hold him and tell him she loved him and that he was still her... .

"Am I still your small tiger?" The pain in his voice made Dharma choke on her own breath as she finally let herself meet his gaze again, and found it filled with the innocent longing and uncertainty of a child... her child. 

"Kenshin...." Her trembling hands rose and cupped his pale face and she pulled him down to her, for although he was not a large man, Dharma was even smaller than he. "You are always my small tiger, dear heart... always." A ragged breath filled her lungs as she watched tears spill over his lashes and run unchecked down his cheeks. "How could I have ever left you behind... I'm s-so sorry, Honey... so v-very sor-ry, can you ever f-forgive me? Ever?"

"M-mom..." He burrowed his forehead against hers as his hands fell from her face and

dropped to her slim shoulders. "D-d-did you ever m-miss m-me? Did y-you?"

"Oh G-god, Baby!" A sob tore its way free from her tiny frame as she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her ravaged face into the curve of his neck. "Every d-day... E-every sing-gle day... I d-died without y-you." A great cry of pure grief wrack through Kenshin as his arm finally stole around his weeping Mother and crushed her into his heaving chest. All those years... all the wasted time... all the needless pain and heartache... for what? Why? 

He knew why, and as the hatred swelled within his soul a passage from the Bible flashed through his mind.

'Vengeance is Mine, sayth the Lord.'

'Not this time,' Kenshin vowed as he pressed his tear wet face tightly against his Mother's shoulder. 'Not this time. This time Vengeance is Mine... and He will pay, I swear it... He will pay for every bruise... every broken bone and lost tooth... every curse... every cruel word.... every lie... he will pay, that he will.'

"Mr. Seijuro," Hiko's bewildered and outraged attention was caught by the smug and

irritating voice of the smirking Police Sergeant as he sauntered over toward him. "It would appear to me that you no longer have a proverbial foot to stand on concerning this... er, incident with your 'son'."

"I beg to differ, Sarg...."

"Shut-up, Mr. Seijuro before I forget my Mother raised me to be polite to strangers... even the ones who are flaming asshole's like yourself." This statement caused Hiko to rear back in offended outrage, but he was intelligent enough not to push the issue any further. By the look on the Sergeant's face, he would not get anywhere even if he did... at least not at the moment. "Now then, I believe the best thing for you to do at this point in time is to put your rather expensive suited ass back into your expensive car and get the hell out of Evermore."

"I think that is a perfect idea, Sergeant, if you will just allow me to collect my family..."

"And, ah... just what 'family' would that be, Mr. Seijuro?"

"Excuse me?" The look on Hiko's face was honest shock and confusion. "Why my wife, my son, and my daughter of course... who else would it be?"

"Wellll, I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Mr. Seijuro."

"You WHAT?"

"I can't let you do that. You see, there is a strong enough suspicion against you in regards to family abuse according to what your boy said, and while we've been standing here, Officer Monk has been good enough to give me a run-down on what your sweet little angel girl told her about your, ah... homelife habits... so, suffice it to say, you will be going home alone today, Mr. Seijuro, and your family will be staying here in Evermore at the family shelter or wherever we decide to put them... as long as it isn't with you. _Kapish_?"

"I do not believe you have the authority to do that, Sergeant." Hiko pulled himself up to his full 6'5" height and stared down at the stocky Policeman. "You need a court order to keep me away from my family... unless you practice law in a different manner 'out here in the boonies'."

"You want a court order, Fancy Pants? I'll get you a court order, and while I'm at it, I'll

just get Child Protective Services and Social Services over here to evaluate what your kids are telling me... not to mention what all these kids standing around here in the hallway say happened... Then we'll talk about what I can and can't do, Ok?"

"Why you little fuck..."

"You wanna go to jail, Mr. Big City Cooperate Attorney? You call me one more foul, off-color name and you get an all expense paid overnight vacation in my gray-bar Motel... My treat."

"You can't be serious?"

"Try me..." Lime-green eyes hard as glass clashed with glittering emerald as the two men squared off like prize fighters, but Hiko knew he was outmatched this time. The stubby policeman had him over a barrel and the little cretin knew it. He had no other choice than to leave without his family, but they had not heard the last of him yet. Not by a long shot they had not.

"Fine... I'm going. But I will be back with a court order for the return of my family and a summons for you."

"Personally?"

"Absolutely."

"Ahhh, I feel special..." Randy gave the arrogant dark haired man a sardonic one sided

smile that told him in no uncertain terms to 'go to hell'. "I'm real scared, can you see me shakin' here? Now why don't you get your sorry excuse for a Father's ass out of here and leave the rest of these descent people alone... besides that, these kids got a dance to get ready for, and you're fucking up the mood." 

*************************************************

As he sped along the highway out of town, a seething rage was boiling inside of Hiko's soul the likes of which he had not felt for years. They had all treated him like a fool, but he was no ones fool... least of all that fucking red-haired brat's. He almost could not believe it, but even after all this time of the kid being more or less gone, he still had the ability to drive Hiko into a blinding blood-red fury that only the sensation of the brat's bones cracking beneath his fingers would satiate. 

"I should have killed him a long time ago when I had the chance..." He muttered to himself as he negotiated a turn into the road to fast causing the tires on his Towne Car to screech in protest while the car slued dangerously close to fishtailing in the damp layer of snow. "Shit! I better be more careful if I don't want to end up wrapped around a phone pole." 

After that, he tried to concentrate more on his driving and less on his step-son although it was hard, and then something off to the left caught his eye and he slowed down and pulled off to the side of the road and stopped. Getting out of the car, he flipped up the collar of his tan trench coat and started to cross the road.

"Hmmmm..." He was mumbling to himself as he shaded his vision with his right hand and gazed off into the distance. "I never noticed that before." Jutting upward out of the whitewash of the light snowstorm's background was the outline of an old lighthouse tower. "It must be setting way out there on the point or something... strange, I never saw it there before." Shrugging, he turned around and made his way back to his car and got in. Carefully maneuvering back onto the wet road, he drove for several miles until he saw an old unkept dirt and gravel road that disappeared off toward the bluffs. Stopping, he looked at it indecisively for a moment and then on a strange sort of an impulse, he turned the big car onto it and slowly drove toward the ocean waiting to see where the old road would lead. 

Not too surprising to him, it eventually led to an old smoothed out lot of sorts where he could park his car. Once he had turned off the engine and locked the doors, Hiko began to look around noticing that the road had led him out to the bluff where it came into contact with the granite cliffs that surrounded the bay. The area was covered with a fine layer of fog so he knew he had better watch his step if he didn't want to fall off and become a Halloween statistic. 

"They'd all just love that, wouldn't they." He smirked to himself and he looked out across what looked like a barren landscape, but he knew better because he could hear the rolling roar of the ocean as it crashed against the nearby cliffs. He began to wander about with care as to where he set his feet when suddenly he realized that there was an old bridge stretching out away from the lot where he had parked. As far as he could tell, it was leading outward across the water toward 'something', but what? He really didn't know, but for whatever reason, he had an urge to find out so he gingerly began to pick his way across.

The wood the bridge was made out of was very old, and much of it was rotted away or

nearly so and he found himself on the verge of almost falling through to the waves far below more than once. However, he kept going... 

"I must be a freaking imbecile..." He muttered under his breath as he hugged the old

wooden rail and searched the boards ahead of him with his toe. Finding one that felt solid, he timidly inched his way forward and sighed in relief when it held his weight and let him make even a few feet of progress. It went this way for the better part of an hour before he finally found himself on the other side, and with a 'whoop' of personal pride in his accomplishment, Hiko leapt off the offensive bridge and did a little victory jig in the muddy dirt. "HAHAHA! I did it! I beat you, you rotten bastard! I made it across in one piece... and you're still as big of a piece of shit as you were when I started, but I made it. YEAH!" But as he danced around he suddenly noticed that the sky was starting to get a little grayer and the light a little less as the sunlight began to fade behind the snow laden clouds. "Hmmmm... that may not be a good thing." 

He was just thinking about going back when something very strange happened to him. The coldest shiver he had ever felt in his life shuddered through his whole body to the point he thought he was going to chatter his teeth loose from his head, and then he had the most uncanny sensation that someone was standing right behind him. Whirling around Hiko sucked in his breath in one great gasping sound of shock as disbelief, horror, and confusion filled his mind all at the same time.

"'ello, there me, boy. I've been waiting for you. What the 'ell took you so fucking long?"

A/N: I know, I know.... another cliff hanger... Gomen nasi (Not.... ~_*) Please Review.... Tsuki-san

You no review==I no write.... hehehehehe I be wicked... yes yes yes


	14. Running From The Moon

A/N: Gomen... Gomen... I am bowing in supplication to the masses for this chapter... It is one of the longest I have written for this story... but I couldn't help it... it just happened that way. There was... stuff that had to happen... and it all had to happen here. Sooooo.... But the promised Limey action between our Beloved K and K is here... ^^" So I am hoping that will get me off the hook for the length; however... I know everyone is going to kill me when they get to the end... Gomen... gomen... gomen nasi... 

A/N: There is a lot of _mental speech _in this chapter as well. So let us all bow down and worship the ground Haruko walk's on for the new program in her computer that finally allows me to write the way I want to... and make the stories look the way I intended for them too all along, but never could. Thank you, Haruko... You are my life-savor. God Bless my dear friend.

Haruko: Absolutely a wonderful chapter! The cliffy got me in giggles. Don't ask me why, but when I get close to anything Limey, I start giggling. Used to hyperventilate a great deal, but now it's down to going _ehehehehehe_. Anyway, I'm sure that the next chapter would reduce me to a puddle of giggly mess, but -shrugs- who cares? As usual, please review this wonderful author's work, we all know she deserves it! Ehehehehehe.

Chapter Fourteen

Running From The Moon

October 31, 2001, Tuesday

Halloween Night

8:35 p.m. Barely a half an hour before the dance

Master Saitou's House

Guest room, upstairs

Dharma sat on the corner of the double sized bed and looked intently at her own reflection staring back at her from the vanity mirror residing up against the wall. It did not take a genius to notice the difference in the look on her face, and she was amazed at it herself. The long ever present worry lines that had marred her forehead as well as the exhausted look of despair that had been so much a part of her seemed to have all but vanished, and the face that looked back at her from the reflective glass seemed a great deal younger... very much lighter... almost... happy.

Hands that could hardly believe it was her face rose to trace the outline of her cheek bones, her nose, her eyebrows... her whole face seemed foreign to her as she touched the sensitive skin and smoothed the shadowy lines away from under her eyes. 

"Is that really me?" Her voice quavered slightly as she spoke to the stranger in the mirror wondering if it were possible for one person to change so much in such a short amount of time. Two hours... had it only been two hours since the police had sent Hiko packing with the warning to leave her and her children alone? Two hours since she had felt the yolk of his oppressive abuse removed from around her neck? Two hours since she had been told she no longer had to live beneath the iron fist of his unrighteous superiority and cruelty? Two hours? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Are you alright, Dharma?" Tokio walked into the room and sat down beside the pale, yet lovely woman she and Saitou had taken into their home earlier. "You look... confused."

"I... I supposed I am all right... It is just... I..." Troubled violet eyes turned and looked helplessly into the kind face of the woman setting beside her. "It has been so long since I felt free... I'm not sure I know how to act..." 

"Oh," a rush of anger laced sympathy filled Tokio as she reached out and covered one of Dharma's hands with her own. "I won't try to say I understand how you feel, because I can't, but I do know this... now that you've gotten a small taste of what it does feel like to be free, don't ever give it up again... Not for any reason, not ever."

"I w-won't... I-I can't. Not now, not after everything that happened today... Not after what Kenshin did." She looked down at the hand covering her's and felt a lump of emotion swell in her throat. "He was just doing the same thing today that he's always done... he was protecting us... Just like Ishida taught him to."

"Ishida? Was that his Father?"

"Yes... He was such a good man, and Kenshin is just like him... just like him." Dharma drew a shaky breath and looked back up into the mirror. "If Ishida could come back... I think he would kill Hiko... I truly do."

"Maybe you should remember that, Dharma... Kenshin is trying to take his Father's place and keep you safe, that really isn't his responsibility you know, but because of the type of young man he appears to be, he's done it anyway... his Father would be proud."

"Yes, he would... yes, he would be."

"I don't think this is something that he should have had to do to make him proud over though... do you?" 

"No..."

"Then do something about it... Stand up and be his Mother, protect him for a change... that is supposed to be **_your_** job anyway... isn't it?"

"Yes, it is... I just never had the strength. Hiko was so... so terrible, and I was so frightened... I never knew what to do so... I hid behind my son."

"But you don't have to be frightened anymore, Dharma. Kenshin is nearly full grown, and he is strong enough to stand with you and fight for your survival... Stand up for him, stand up with him, and stop hiding behind him... Be his Mother... start taking control of your life and the lives of your children... it is within you to do it, I know it is."

"Thank-you, Tokio." Dharma leaned over and hugged the dark-haired woman as tears of gratitude gathered in her eyes. "Thank-you for believing in me."

"It has to start somewhere, Dharma... It has to start somewhere." 

**********************************

Quii Saitou's bedroom

9:00 p.m.

"Come on, Sweetie... I think you look wonderful." 

"Oh crap, Mom... You'd say that whether I did or not." Grumpy teenagers and Halloween costumes just seemed to walk hand in hand, Quii Saitou was no exception. Even though she was a very pretty girl with her mother's dark chestnut hair and her father's piercing topaz-yellow eyes, Quii was exceptionally concerned about her appearance and the way others looked at her. Most of that had to do with the fact that she was Ruakii's little sister and he was such an overly **_visible _**person at the school. She always felt like she was lost somewhere in his shadow everywhere they went. However, this year she had decided to try and make a big _splash _of her own by dressing up as something outlandish for the Halloween dance. But she was afraid now that she had ended up looking more like a big popcicle than what she really wanted to.

"Don't you think the bodice is way too tight?" Her own critical gaze raked her thin almost hipless frame in the full length mirror as she scrutinized the shiny turquoise dress she was wearing, noting that it was pushing her size B-Cup breasts well up and over the top of the heart shaped neckline while the full skirt flared prettily around her shins.

"No, I really don't, Honey. I think you look beautiful." Quii stuck her tongue out at her

own image and then turned a rueful look in her Mother's direction her insecurity easily showing through. "Quii, dear... You really need to try and have more faith in yourself, sweetheart. The dress is beautiful on you, and it makes you look beautiful as well, now calm down and come over here so I can fix your hair."

"Fine..." The teen humphed in a sullen manner as she followed Tokio out of her room and down the hallway. As they entered her parent's room, she flopped down in front of her Mother's huge old fashioned vanity mirror. "Are you sure this is going to work? I mean... do you really think anyone is even going to notice I'm there?"

"Well, if they don't, then they are all blind."

"Oh God...."

"Stop it! I didn't mean it that way." Tokio pulled the brush through her daughters long thick hair until it became a glistening rope in her hands, and then she began to carefully wind it into an intricate chignon on top of Quii's head which she then secured with several long jeweled clips. Then she carefully took a long thin piece of satin ribbon the same color as the dress and wound it around the large knot of hair until there was just enough left to tie a slender delicate bow on the underside leaving two long tails of shimmering turquoise hanging down the girls back about ten or twelve inches. "There," she said in a satisfied voice. "Beautiful, now where are your wings?"

"Still on my bed..."

"All right, you be still while I go get them."

"Yes, Mom." As she watched her mother leave, Quii picked up a small hand-held mirror and began inspecting what her mother had done to her hair. It was gorgeous! 

"Wow! Is that **my** hair?" A tentative hand lifted and gingerly touched the masterpiece setting on top of her head and as she did, Quii felt the burn of tears threatening to spill. She had never felt so... pretty. _Maybe someone will notice_. She thought as she hastily smudged at the dampness gathering in her eyes before it made her mascara run... and before her Mother came back and noticed what a baby she was.

"Here we are..." The two wings that were made out of a very thin wire frame, seranwrap, and lots of glitter and white goose feather's were swept into the room as Tokio brought them through the door and presented them to Quii like they were a prize or something. "Now... we just have to figure out how to get them on." 

"**_MOTHER?!_**" Quii wailed in a show of teenage upset as she flew off the small vanity stool in outraged alarm. "Do you mean you don't know **_how_** to get them on??"

"Heheheheheheh," Tokio chuckled and hugged the nervous girl. "Of course I do... calm down before you have a stroke."

"Ahh geez, Mom... don't do that to me..." A huge sigh of relief and exasperation exited the girls lungs in a loud _whoosh _of air, and she glared at the chuckling brown-eyed devil holding the rest of her costume. "You almost made me have a heart attack."

"Serves you right for letting yourself get so worked up... now turn around so we can attach these things and turn you into a proper Fairy Queen."

"Right... I'll probably just turn out looking like a really big blue bug."

**_"Quii Saitou!"_**

"Sorry..." She muttered and presented her back to her laughing Mother and let her attach the glitter and feather laden wings. "Happy Halloween... shit!"

*************************************

9:15 p.m.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That noise?"

"I didn't hear anything..."

"I didn't hear anything either... are you trying to scare us, Kaoru?" Megumi stopped and glared at the blue-eyed girl who was all made up to be a Banshee complete with flour powdered in her black hair making in an unearthly grayish-blue color, white paint covering her entire face, and great black craters painted around her eyes and on her eyelids. The long flowing white gown she wore was wrapped several times around her slender waist from just below her breasts to just above her hips with a long piece of see-through gossamer that gave it a Vampish look, and the sleeves hung in great billowing triangles down past her wrists further adding to her eerie appearance.

"No, I am _NOT_ trying to scare you guys... I swear I heard something." Kaoru glared back into Megumi's narrowed brown eyes which were heavily made up with thick mascara and peacock blue eyeshadow. Thick mult-hooped golden earrings clinked together as she shook her head and looked away from Kaoru's moon-pale face, and as she swept the heavy skirt of blood red crimson velvet around her shins, she turned to scan the area of the campus they were standing in. The stark white of her silk blouse and black velvet vest made her stand out attractively as the flamenco dancer she was dressed up to be. Her long coal black hair was hanging loose and fell down her back in a tumbled disarray of curling ringlets that bounced whenever she moved.

"Well, I don't see **_or_** hear anything. So I think you're up in the night, _little girl_."

"Hey, Megumi." Misao stormed up to her friend and shoved her pert nose up into the other girls face. "Don't talk to Kaoru that way. If she said she heard something, she probably did."

"Right. Even though neither you nor I heard a damn thing?"

"Right. You gonna tell me you've never heard _ANYTHING_ nobody else did?"

"What?" 

"You heard me. Have you ever heard anything nobody else ever did? Huh? Did ya?"

"Oh shut-up, Misao. Sometimes you really are such a weas..."

"Don't you dare say it, Megumi." Misao growled through her black-cat make-up making her strapped on blacknose with its glued on whiskers twitch comically. "I swear if you ever say that, I'll forget we're friends." And then she turned and started to march up the paved sidewalk toward the school with her black furry, wire-stiff tail swinging in agitation behind her as she went.

"Wait, Misao..." Kaoru took off after the pissed off Cat, and Megumi just rolled her eyes in irritation as she made a move to follow.

"Great... now she's mad at me... shit!Can't I say anything to anyone anymore?"

"Psssst...Wanna a piece of candy, little girl....?" The rasping husky voice came floating out of nowhere and when Megumi turned around to see who was behind her, there was no one there. All she could make out was the bushes flanking the sidewalk and the outline of the trees across the quad, but the little hairs were standing up on the back of her neck telling her somebody was hanging around.

"Hey!" She called as she looked out into the dark. "Who's there?" But no one answered... _Like I really thought someone was going to._ "Stupid..." she muttered and turned back and started to walk toward the Gym again. "Boys... they'll never grow up."

"Wanna go plaaayyyy... _Meguummiii_?" This time the voice sounded really close and it was obvious that someone thought they were pulling a good one on her. Well, she would show them.

"All right!" She whirled around abruptly and put her hands on her hips angrily and stared in the direction of the husky voice. "I am **_not_** thinking this is very funny... so cut it out who ever you are, I don't want to play your stupid game, and just in case you think I'm scare... I'm not!" 

"Whoooo said I waaaaaaas playing?" Suddenly a pale hand snaked out of the bushes and grabbed Megumi by the wrist and tried to pull her back inside... but by then, all hell had broke loose and the world turned into chaos.

"EYYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Megumi's terrified scream split the cold night air like the razor sharp blade of a dagger, and it brought her two friends running back to the rescue. When the struggling Megumi came back into view, both Kaoru and Misao started to yell and hollar loudly in frightened dismay, and then, without a second thought, they pounced on top of the unknown attacker tackling him to the ground and forcing him to release his screaming victim.

"Let go of her you perverted maniac..." **_Thump Pound Thump Thud Pound_**

"What do you think you're doing, you big jerk?" **_Thud Pound Whomp Pound Thump _**

"Hey! Hey! Cut it out... Owe! That hurts... **_Dammit!_**"

"Wha...?

"Huh...?" 

"Somebody get these crazy little she-wolves off of me... get off, dammit... **_KENSHIN_**! Get 'em off of me before they kill me..." The whailing angry voice was starting to sound a little bit familiar all of a sudden, and the three girls looked at each other with a mixture of confusion and apprehension as the implications of their rash actions began to dawn on them. But it was Megumi who moved first. She decided the best thing to do was just wade in and try to salvage the situation... if she could. 

"Sano...? Is that _YOU_ under there?" Megumi yanked Kaoru and Misao out of the way and rolled the dark shape over onto its back revealing a disheveled Sanosuke dressed up like a very 'Mafia-type' gangster complete with 1930's hat and funky-styled gloves and shoes. "Sano!" She exclaimed and leaned down to hug him as she started to laugh in hopes that he would find it as funny as she did. "You dirty-rat." She said in her best impersonation of the guy in the Mob-Movies earning a big grin from the lanky brown-eyed Senior. "You scared the shit out of me." 

"I was _trying _to, Kitsune." He was smiling and feeling a tremendous sense of relief as the knowledge that she wasn't going to kill him settled into his startled brain. "I was just gonna pull you in the bushes for a little pre-dance _festivities, b_ut I didn't know the _Calvary_ was going to come and rescue you... geez. The two of them are down right dangerous." He offered a mock glare in the direction of the two girls who were standing a few feet away watching Megumi making a fuss over her boyfriend with bored looks on their faces.

"You got what you deserved, Sano." Misao stuck her tongue out at him and then started to look around almost like she was sniffing the air with her Cat's nose. "Ummm, did... did Aoshi come with you?" She asked as little knots started to find their way into the pit of her stomach. 

"I did." The sound of the smooth almost monotone voice sent shivers of pure excitement up and down Misao's spine as she spun around to find the object of her affection materializing from the darkness right behind her. Her heart skipped a beat as she took the costume he had chosen to wear. It was perfect. 

"Zorro?" She queried breathlessly as he approached her with his usual graceful walk and gazed down at her through the slits in his black silk mask. Misao could hardly breath as she felt herself being drawn up into those amazing jade green orbs. _God, he's beautiful_.

"But of course." The barest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as his glittering green gaze roved over the snug fitting cat costume she wore. _Nice. Very nice. Curves in all of the right places. _"Would you care to see my fencing skills, Misao?" He asked in a husky whisper that brought gooseflesh out across her entire body causing her to shiver and step closer to him._Excellent._

"Sure... anytime." She sounded like a puppet dancing to someone elses tune. _Oh God... did I just say that?_

"Shall we, _My Pet?_" His eyes were laughing at her, she would swear they were... and he was offering her his arm just like she was some sort of royalty... Suddenly it was very hot in their immediate vicinity, and she could not seem to make her voice work anymore so she just nodded and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and let him lead her away.

"Those two... they really need to get a room or something, you know."

"Sano..." Megumi playfully slugged him in the arm. "That isn't a very nice thing to say." She chided but her eyes were laughing as she helped him stand up and brush off his clothes.

"It's the truth." He smiled roguishly into her dancing eyes, and then reached up and playfully tweaked her nose. "You ready to go, Kitsune? That is, if you still want to go to the dance with me... after all, you did say earlier today that...." 

"Shut-up Sano," Megumi sidled up against him and started batting her heavily weighted eyelashes at him as she gave him her most coy smile. "Would you **_pleeeaaase_** take me to the dance...?" She started wrapping her arms around his biceps and squeezed the muscle entreatingly. "Please?" 

"Shheesh... how could I refuse something that beautiful... come on, Princess. Let's go." Gently he bent over and brushed his lips against hers before freeing his arm so he could wrap it around her shoulders. "Anything else you want, Kitsune... while we're talkin' about it?" He asked as they started to wander off toward the school. 

"Umhum..."

"What's that?"

"A room..."

**_"WHAT???"_** But the only answer he got after that was the sound of Megumi's low laughter as they disappeared up the sidewalk into the darkness.

"Ahhhh, poor guy... getting teased like that." Kenshin's voice appeared behind Kaoru, and though she jumped just a little, a smile crossed her face. "You girls are unmerciful, you know."

"I was just starting to wonder where you were, and when you were going to show up, Tough Guy." Kaoru smiled and turned to look over her shoulder where she spotted a very dashing and handsome pirate dressed in a white shirt with billowing sleeve, open neck, and devastatingly snug turn of the century breeches that were tucked into mid-shin black leather boots. A black leather strap hung diagonal over his right shoulder holding the sheath for his three foot long rapier which was swinging seductively next to his left hip. But the one thing about him that really caught her eye was the fact that he had left the incredible length of his thick red hair loose, and it fell nearly to his waist like a satin cape swaying over his shoulders. _Oh My God! He's absolutely gorgeous!_ _I-I can't breath... he's so beautiful... Dear Lord... _

"You were, were you?" The smooth drawl of his voice sent a shiver of immediate sexual awareness quivering through her vital private places, and Kaoru's heart stated beating faster the closer he came.

"Yes, I-I was." As he came to stand behind her, she could feel the heat of his body permeating through her gown and the coldness of the night suddenly disappeared. _And I was worried I hadn't brought my coat or something... dummy._

"Hmmmm," A gentle hand slid around her waist from behind and then laid flat against her stomach as he splayed his fingers out across the material of her dress. A small amount of pressure was all he needed to pull her back against him so that her shoulders and hips lay flush against his body. "Well, I am here... what did you have in mind?" His breath was hot and moist along the flesh behind her ear and Kaoru shivered in response as one of her hands moved to cover his where it rested on her belly and the other rose to glide around to the back of his neck.

"I-I don't exactly know now that you mention it..." Her voice was breathless with the touch of a tremble as she turned her head and rubbed her nose against his cheek. "But, I'm sure I can think of something." _Something Naughty... _

"Can you?" Warm lips brushed against her softly parted ones, and Kenshin heard her sharp intake of air at the gentle touch. "You like that, Tanuki?" He asked as he nuzzled against her cheek. "You like it when I touch you?" _I hope you do... you have no idea how much I want you to... Oh God! I want to... Kaoru..._

"Yesssss, I like it..." Her voice was a husky whisper against his lips as she rubbed her mouth briefly across his. "Kiss me again, Kodora..." Her body was turning inside of his loose embrace and it was only a moments breath before she was facing him and her arms were both sliding around his shoulders and neck. "Kiss me again... please." Soft pink lips brushed across the firm line of his partially open mouth again and a low whispering growl escaped him as one hand rose to gently cup the back of her head. _Kao... I... Oh Baby... I want... _

"I will, Tanuki... I will whenever you want me too." Slowly his tongue stroked her bottom lip back and forth and he felt her shiver in his arms as a tiny moan of want puffed against his mouth. _Mine..._ He thought in wonder and humility as he felt her melt into him. _She really is Mine. _And then his tongue slipped though the opening between her parted lips and he brought their mouths together in a deep, moist loving kiss that had him enfolding her willowy frame against his wildly pounding Heart even as her arms were pulling him closer to hers. 

"Kenshin..." Kaoru's breath was coming in little gasps as he released her mouth and began nuzzling along the heavenly warmth of her throat and jaw. "I missed you." 

"You did?" He leaned back and looked quizzically into the heavy lidded eyes of her ghoulishly made up face. "How could you miss me, Kao? We've been around each other all day." 

"I know... but you haven't kissed me since this morning..." Her eyes dropped in embarrassed shyness and he began to laugh softely. _Funny girl._

"I see... so it was _that_ part of me you missed, was it?" A soft chuckle stated to rumble in his chest as he looked at her bent head. What a funny, wonderful surprise she was turning out to be in his life, he was thinking, and how terrible it would have been if she had never come. 

"Wellll... yes, it is... it was... I..." As he gently cupped her chin and lifted her face up so he could look into her eyes again, Kenshin's smile grew wider as he discovered Kaoru nervously chewing on her bottom lip. She always did that whenever she thought she had made a mistake or had said the wrong thing. He thought it was hysterically cute. 

"What are you doing that for?" He asked as he took his thumb and pulled the tender tissue out of her mouth. "That's my job." _And no one elses... ever._

"Your job?" Her eyes grew round with amused flirtation as she adjusted herself in his arms. "And just exactly **_how_** is it your job to chew on my lip?" _Are you going to be doing it soon? Or do I have to wait all night?_

"Because it's your lip, Tanuki." Violet eyes filled with mirth and desire darkened to deep lavender as he inched his mouth closer to hers again. "And because I like how you taste." He was within a breath of her lips and Kaoru's breathing was becoming more erratic by the second. "And because you like it when I taste you." _Himura's hunting Tanuki... _

"I-I d-do?" She was stuttering and she knew it, but her senses were suddenly full of him and she could not think, move, or hardly even articulate. _He's hunting me again... just like this morning... Ooooohhh God... I-I can't breath... _

"Yes, you do... shall I show you?" She could feel the moist heat of his words as they puffed out of his mouth and touched the sensitive skin of her lips, and she shivered in sexual awareness as her body responded to him of its own accord.

"Y-yesssss..." It was the voice of want. "Sh-show me..." The voice of hunger and need. 

"But we're outside, Kao... and it's cold..." _Even Tanuki's get cold... Should I... Can I... She's so close... so warm... God, I can smell her heat... Jesus!_

"I don't care... just kiss me, Kenshin... please, just kiss me again."

"Oh God..." His mouth closed over hers and his tongue plunged in deeply and he began to rub it along the roughness of hers. Hands that knew only need and want gripped her hips and brought her body closer to him, and he could hear her moaning beneath him as parted her lips farther and increased the wetness between their mouths. _So beautiful..._ _So warm and so beautiful... Oh Kao!_ As he felt the increasing heat of her response to his touch, Kenshin's rational mind began to swim out of control, and he unconsciously started changing the angle of their connection again and again as his desire grew. There was no inhibitions between them this time... no pulling back... no stopping... His hands moved to caress the natural curve of her back and then found themselves sliding over the rounding smoothness of her butt, and as a throaty moan of desire was torn from her, Kaoru fisted both hands into the heavy red mane of his hair and pushed herself into the hardness of the erection she could feel pressing into her upper thigh. 

_'Kenshin... I want...'_

_'I know, Baby, I do too..._ _Beautiful Kao... I do too...'_

That was the point that Kenshin realized things were getting out of control again, and stiffening against Kaoru, he gently pushed her away from him. "I-I can't..." He dropped his mouth from her's and buried his face against her shoulder. "I can't." _Oh God! I'm going to die... this is going to kill me... God... Help!_

"W-why not? What's wrong? Kenshin? Did I do something wrong? Baby?" Her voice was filled with anxiety and fear and the sound of it tore on his emotions making him realize he was going to have to tell her the truth of why he had to stop. 

"No, _YOU_ didn't do anything wrong, Honey." His voice was ragged with barely suppressed desire and he could feel his body trembling against hers. "I can't do this... I can't because... if I keep kissing you like this... I... I'll pack you back to my dorm room and we might not make it to the dance..._ at all_." The gruff admission was spoken from his heart, and Kenshin knew that there was no denying now what he felt for this girl. _I must love her_, he thought solemnly. _If I didn't... I wouldn't care about whether or not I packed her back to my room... I wouldn't care if she was a virgin... I wouldn't care... __**would I?**_

"Kenshin..." Kaoru buried her hands inside of his long loose hair and pulled his head up so that they were looking at each other again. "I know how you feel... Don't you think I feel it too?" _I'm burning up... I feel like my skin is coming off... Ken...?_

"You... you want me?" _What? But I thought... _He asked in a small almost disbelieving voice as he looked into the luminous lakes of her huge blue eyes. "But this morning...?" 

"This morning was this morning... and if feels like it was about 3 days ago to me. So much has happened since then, and I feel different since then too." She looked into his fast earnestly as she tried to make him understand what she was saying to him. "It's hard to explain... but, I feel closer to you than I did this morning... It's like I've known you forever." _I feel like we've been together forever... I don't want to turn back... I don't want to... stop._

"Kao... I... You don't know how much you mean to me... I can't... I don't know how to tell you..." _I love you... God, I love you so much... why can't I say it?? I love you, Kao... you mean everything to me... everything..._

"Ahem... We don't mean to break up your little... ahh, party here big brother, but don't we all have a dance or something to go to?" Soujiro's somewhat embarrassed voice earned him a murderous glare from his older brother, but he just smiled good naturedly into the face of certain death and shrugged. "Just thought We'd give ya a little reminder, Bud... that's all." Laughing lightly, he cast a conspirital glance down at the dark-hair boy standing next to him. "Isn't that right, Yahiko?"

"Yup... that's right, Mr. Himura." The boy quipped as he began to snicker behind his Ninja costume sleeve. "Just a friendly reminder." 

"Yeah, well, you can take your little reminder and stick it up your..."

"KENSHIN!!" Kaoru thumped him hard on the back of the head successfully cutting off the rest of his foul retort. "Soujiro and Yahiko were just being... ah... courteous, that's all. No need to tear their heads off for that." But just the same, Kaoru sent a warning glance in her younger brothers direction telling him she was none to pleased with him either. Yahiko just snickered a little louder and winked at her causing her to blush beneath her make-up

"Courteous my ass..." Kenshin growled as he continued to glare daggers at his smiling brother. "I think you and the midget ought to know the way to the Gym by now, dick-head... and I don't think you need **_me_** to hold your hand in order to get there... DO YOU??" The thinly veiled threat finally reached the intelligence center of Soujiro's brain and he realized his brother was NOT fooling around... he was dead serious. _Time to go..._

"Ahhh, no... I remember the way... that I do, and if I don't... the kid can show me." Quickly the handsome brown-haired young man with the blue-gray eyes was smiling the smile of a walking dead man and scurrying away across the campus pulling Kaoru's howling little brother along behind him. "We'll see you two there... no hurry... We'll be fine."

"Kenshin... that was a rotten thing to do to your own brother." A pretty scowl covered her fine features as she looked at her fuming boyfriend. "He was just trying to be nice." _But I'm killing Yahiko the next time I see him... the slimy little squid!_

"No he wasn't..." Kenshin was still glaring daggers of death after the retreating duo when he turned back to face his girlfriend. "He was trying to be a funny pain in my ass, only I did not think it was very funny... and now he knows it. And as for that _fucking little shit that used to be your brother... He's a dead man._"

"Kenshin, aren't you getting all upset over nothing? It wasn't that big of deal, you know?"

"Oh really, Kao? And just exactly what were we doing when the **_two_** of them showed up? Hmmm? Or had you thought of that?" One elegantly arch dark brown eye brow arched up as Kenshin favored Kaoru with a knowing look that had her looking at him in complete confusion.

"Wha...?" 

"They saw us, Kao..." 

"They SAW??" If Kaoru's face could have turned red it would have, but the white make-up she was wearing hid the flaming blush that colored her cheeks. "Are you sure?" _Oh God! Oh Shit! That little squid-worm is going to tell Dr. Gensai... oooohhh nnoooo..._

"Of course I'm sure... The only think I'm not sure of, is how much they saw."

"Ooohhh shit!" Kaoru pulled away from Kenshin and covered her mouth in shock. "You don't think they saw... I mean... I was... You were.... Oh God!" _We're dead... No, they are dead... I'm going to kill them both... OOOOOOOOOHHH SSSHHHIIITTT!_!!

************************

As Soujiro entered the Gymnasium, he was immediately struck by the fact that there were about 30 or more glowing little ghost-beasts hanging precariously from the ceiling each looking as if it were ready to bust free and drop onto the head of some unsuspecting slob who happened to walking by at just the right moment.

"Not good... Not good at all." He said to himself as he noticed that they were literally hanging all over the place which meant there really was not a safe place to stand anywhere. "I might have been better off staying back in the room... could be taking my life into my own hands out here, that I could."

"Do you always talk to yourself in the first person?" A soft musical voice off to his left captured his attention away from the dangling time-bombs, and Soujiro turned to find himself looking into a pair of very captivating topaz eyes. _Beautiful... girl... __**wow!** _

"What?" _God, that sounded stupid. Get a grip Sou._

"You were talking to yourself in the first person..." The girl smiled and tried to hide a giggle behind her hand. "It sounded kind of funny." _Cute skeleton... I wonder who he is... I don't recognize him... hmmm..._

"Oh... I guess it would." He smiled in embarrassment and nervously scratched the back of his head. "I do it sometimes without really knowing it... it's a bad habit I got into after my brother left home... I didn't have anybody else to talk too." _God, she's a vision... her eyes... her skin... down boy._

"That's right." Her pretty face perked up as she finally recognized him through his skeleton make-up and costume. "Your Kenshin Himura's brother... I saw you today... I guess everybody saw you today." Suddenly she was embarrassed as she recalled the circumstances under which everyone had come to see this young man. "Ummm... I'm sorry, that was really lame of me." _Stupid Girl... now he won't want to talk to you._

"Ahhh, No worries," Soujirou could see how embarrassed and foolish she felt and it made him want to make her feel better. "Don't feel bad about what happened today... I'm actually glad everybody finally got to see what kind of a guy my brother really **_is_**."

"What do you mean by that?" _Himura's Himura... what's the big secret?_

"Everybody has always thought he was this big bad ass who hated everyone around him, when in fact, he's just a kid trying to get by in a world that has made his life hell while he's been trying to do what he thinks is right." _Did that come out right? I feel like I'm rambling... Geez, I'm nervous..._

"But... but I thought he shot and killed somebody... you mean that's not true?" _Shit!_ _I never knew THAT!_

"No... that's not true. He was out with a bunch of his friends one night doing some stuff he shouldn't have been, but it was one of them that shot the old man, not Kenshin. Kenshin just got stuck with the rap because the Police couldn't find any of the other guys... and because my Father wouldn't try to help him clear his name." _Is THAT what everyone thinks?? DAMN! I gotta fix that... gotta fix that fast._

"Your Father... he's kind of not a very nice man..." She looked down at the glitter covered wand she was holding in her hands and started fiddling with it nervously. "Does that bother you?" _WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?? YOU CAN'T ASK HIM STUFF LIKE THAT!! CRAP!_

"Yes, It bothers me a lot. My Father is an asshole... Oops! I'm sorry." He blushed and waved his hands in apology. "I didn't mean to swear... Bad habit I get into when I'm around my brother." _Waitago dumbass! Now she's going to think you're a foul-mouthed upstate big-city kid... and she really won't want to talk to you. Shit!_

"It's Ok." Laughing at his embarrassment over swearing in front of her, Quii reached out and touched his arm for a moment in an attempt at making him feel better. "Don't worry about it. My brother swears like a dock-worker all the time." _Gosh, doesn't he think I've ever heard anyone swear before... how sweet._

"Thanks, but I should watch my language around girls... it's not polite to swear in front of them... bad manners, you know." He rolled his eyes and she laughed again. _I have never felt so totally stupid in my entire life... God, make me disappear._

"I'll tell you what, we'll pretend I'm not a girl," She said with a silly smile on her pretty face. "And then you can talk the way you want... Ok?" _I'll do anything to get you to let your guard down... just a little... besides, I make a good friend... we can be friends... I wonder if he would want to be my friend??? Am I being to pushy? Oh God... I hate this._

"Ummmm.... I don't think I can do that." Now he was looking at his hands and blushing behind his make-up_. How in the hell does she think I'm going to be able to pretend she's not a girl with her looking the way she does? Does she think I'm blind or what?_

"Why not? It can't be that hard?" Suddenly she was eyeing him in confusion and not understanding why what she had suggested was such a big deal. After all, she was just trying to be friendly. _Maybe he doesn't want to be friends? Maybe he thinks I'm coarse 'cause I don't care if he swears... Damn! I hate this._

"But it would be hard... to pretend you aren't a girl, I mean." _Especially with those perfect_ _breasts you've got... Oh Shit! Don't be looking at her chest. What is the matter with you? She'll think you are some kind of a pervert... get a grip, Man. Get a grip. You don't even know her name._

"Why? You just use your imagination." _Silly boy... Sheesh!_

He looked at her in disbelief trying to figure out if she was being serious or if she was playing a really bazaar game with him, but one look into her innocent confused eyes and he knew she was totally serious. "Why?" He echoed her question back at her as he moved to stand directly in front of her. "Because you are **_too_** beautiful to be anything but a girl, and it would be impossible to look you in the face and try to imagine you as anything else but what you are... the most beautiful girl I think I've ever seen in my life." _There... no games... no guessing... _ He watched her face go from confused to disconcerting, and then painful misunderstanding.

"B-beau-tiful??" Eyes bigger than golden dinner plates stared at him from a face that had gone paler than the full-moon outside, and Soujiro had the strangest feeling that she was about to faint. "Why do you say that to me?" _I don't want to play games... games hurt._

"Say what? That you're beautiful?" Soujiro was so shocked his mouth was hanging open wide enough to catch next summers flies. How could she not know she was beautiful? _You must know... don't you look in the mirror for pete's sake?_

"Y-Yes... Why? Why do you do that when you know it isn't true?" Her voice was tight and trembling as if she were trying to speak past a large object lodged in her throat. _Please don't do this to me... don't tease me... it hurts to be teased. _

"Not true? **_Are you insane_**?" Turning to her, he gently reached out and took her by the hand and led her out onto the old wooden floor where the lights were shining and the ballroom ball was throwing multicolored dancing dots across the walls and the floor. "Look at you..." He said as he pulled her in a wide circle causing the lights to shimmer off the brilliant turquoise fabric of her dress and all of the tiny glitter sparkles within the multitude of feathers of her fairy wings. "**_You are beautiful... _**dance with me, beautiful Fairy Princess... will you? Dance with me?" _Please dance with me... I've never seen anyone like you in my life and I feel... Please dance with me.._

Quii could not believe her ears nor her eyes as one of the most handsome boys she had ever seen in her life asked her to dance and called her beautiful. She wasn't about to tell him that she was supposed to be a Fairy Queen not a Princess... who cared? Queen? Princess? It was all the same to her as she let him take her in his arms and twirl her away to the rhythm of a slow-moving lovesong.

Who cared? It was Halloween... anything was possible... even for a Fairy Princess and a Skeleton. 

"By the way, Princess... What is your name?" _I should know if I plan on spending anymore time with you... and I DO... so tell me your name, pretty girl..._

"Quii... Quii Saitou."

"Quii... Pretty name... I'm Soujiro... Soujiro Seijuro. But my friends call me Seta-san." _Quii? I think you have the 'key' to my heart Quii Saitou. I hope your Father doesn't mind... _

"Seta-san? That's different? What does it mean?" _It could be Bluto for all I care... just keep looking at me like you are and nothing else really matters to me... not really..._

"It's my middle name with a Japanese twist. Kenshin's real dad was Japanese and Kenshin used to call me Seta-san when I was younger... it was a nick-name that stuck with my friends."

"Who calls you Soujiro?" 

"My Mom and Little sister."

"What does your brother call you?"

"Whatever he wants too..." Soujiro winked at Quii making her laugh as he whirled her around and around beneath the dozens of lights that glowed lighting up the dance floor. It was Cinderella time for the turquoise Fairy Queen and the dashing Skeleton... It was a good thing all of the pumpkins were being used for Jack-o-Lantern's and all of the Mice had been shoed away by a screaming Megumi; otherwise, we might all be starting to believe in glass-slippers too. 

***************************

Kenshin could see how upset and embarrassed Kaoru was, but he could not help the laughter that bubbled up in this throat as he watched her dramatic reaction. "Come on, Honey..." He put his arms around her again and pulled her close. "It's not the end of the world if our brothers caught us making out a little... at least I don't think so... Is it?"_ They should know by now what will happen to them if they talk... I'll turn them both into crow-bait... I swear... he he he he he he..._

"It's not that, Kenshin... but, what if they heard what we were saying too?"_ I'm going to die from embarrassment... I just know it._

"I don't think they was close enough for that, Kao. Besides, even if they did, they will never say anything about it. Sou's got way too much class for that, and Yahiko's too scared I'll clobber him if he does."

"You're sure? I mean, are you really sure because I would just die if anybody found out." 

"Found out what? That I want to play hide-n-seek under the covers with my girlfriend?" The darkness did nothing to hide the dancing mischief that glinted in his dark lavender eyes, and Kaoru found herself wondering just exactly what all was involved in his version of 'Hide-n-seek'. 

"Kenshin!" She tried to make her voice sound outraged, but it was a poor attempt as a river of giggles spilt out instead and she burrowed into his shoulder. "The things you say sometimes..." _You make me feel so... so... Like I wish we weren't outside._

"What?" He asked innocently as he brought his hands around to caress her sides and then cupped her elbows and lifted her arms back around his neck. "What did I say?" _Himura's on the prowl for Tanuki... again..._

"You know... playing hide-n-seek... you're so bad." Her mouth was smiling and his eyes were focusing on it again as he let his hands drift along her upper arms and then down along her sides where he could gently palm the curve of her breasts. Her body shivered in response to the intimacy of his touch as well as the timbre of his husky voice. _He... he's hunting me again... I can feel it._

"I am bad... but you like it." His thumbs carefully began rubbing little circles in the soft pliant flesh he held in his hands, and she trembled against the length of his body as she instinctively pressed closer to him. _So soft... so warm... My beautiful tanuki..._

"Yes... I do like it... but you aren't bad the way you think you are." The husky moistness of her voice brushed past his cheek as she struggled to form coherent thought. _You are only 'bad' for me... when you're like this... this is 'bad', but in a good way... _

"I'm not?" A gentle swaying motion in his hips started and he was touching his forehead against hers as he continued his tender massaging of her breasts. "Then how am I bad, Kao?" _If you knew what I was thinking about you, little tanuki... you'd think I was more than just 'bad'... you'd run away... faraway... but I would find you... that I would._

"You make me feel naughty when we are like this... you make me... want things." It was easy to match the motion of his body with hers, and Kaoru found that by arching her back just a little brought both her breasts into firmer contact with his chest, and it pushed the softness of her lower body against the unyielding planes of his much harder one. Kenshin's harsh intake of breath told her that her actions were making him feel things just as well, and knowing that she had that power over him made her feel a little giddy. _Mine... this beautiful Angel-Wolf is Mine..._

"I make you feel... naughty, huh?" He leaned back and locked gazes with her as he smiled tenderly down into the shimmering blue diamonds of her eyes. "Hmmmm, I have to admit, Tanuki... You make me feel pretty naughty too." This elicited a giggle from Kaoru and she reached up to press a soft wet kiss into his smiling lips. 

"What are we going to do about that, Kodora?" It was an innocently spoken question, but it filled Kenshin with a burning flame of need that set his lavender eyes on fire turning them into beautiful shining lanterns of liquid gold. "Ken-shin?" Kaoru gazed in amazement at the astonishing transformation that had occurred right before her, and found both of her hands cupping his extraordinarily handsome face as she gazed deeply into those beautiful golden orbs that were burning into her eyes. "How...?" _I've never seen... He's a beautiful Angel... Oh My God... look at his eyes... Look at his magnificent eyes._

"I... I love you, Kao..." He whispered in a rough voice that sounded as if it had come from the very depths of his soul, and capturing one of her hands, he pulled it to his mouth and pressed a deeply passionate kiss into its palm letting the tip of his tongue flicker across the sensitive grooves as she watched with wide disbelieving eyes. _I... I said it. I actually said it... and I meant it... God, I really meant it!_

"Ken..." When he looked at her again, the breath caught in Kaoru's throat as the enormity of emotion in his eyes reached out to engulf her in its warmth and security, and with a cry of pure joy she covered his mouth with hers and didn't care if the tears that had started to slip from her eyes melted her make-up or not. At the moment, it really did not matter to her. Her beautiful Angel-Wolf loved her... He really loved her.

"Wanna play hide-n-seek, little girl?" The voice that whispered in her ear was deep, husky but not at all foreign to her anymore, and Kaoru felt a surge of heat rush through her body as the meaning of those innocent yet seductively spoken words registered in her mind. Did she want...? Did she...? Would she...? "Do you trust me, Kao?" _I want you so much, Sweet Kao... so much... am I moving too fast for you? Tell me what you want... I will do anything you want... that I will._

"I trust you." _Can't you feel what I want, Kenshin? Can't you feel my heart... Can't you feel my soul... I want you too, my beautiful Angel-Wolf. I want you too. _She kissed him full on the mouth again and then felt him swinging her up into his arms as easily as if she weighed no more than Cleo and begin walking back the way to the boys dormitory, and as Kaoru laid her head in the curve of his shoulder, she burrowed deeply into the thick mass of red hair covering his neck. "I have to warn you about something, Kenshin." 

"What is that, Tanuki?" He leaned his head just enough that he was resting his jaw against her forehead in a protective manner, but he did not miss a step or slow his pace as he carried her through the darkness.

"I've never been very good at hide-n-seek."

"Why? Can't you count?" Laughter colored his voice and it made her smile as she tilted her head back to nuzzle against his earlobe making him shiver ever so delicately. "Or is it that you can't run very fast? What seems to be the problem?"

"It's not any of those things," Her teeth nipped playfully at his now exposed earlobe and then she tentatively ran her tongue over its smooth surface causing the young man carrying her to catch his breath and grit his teeth in response. "I've never been very good at hiding... I'm always the first one to get found."

"Ahhhh, that's Ok, Honey..." Was his reply as he nudged against her forehead bringing her face up to his so he could look into her laughing eyes. "There isn't very much room to hide in a twin bed anyway so there wouldn't have been too many places for me to look..." She giggled and burrowed against his throat once more as well as tightening her arms around his neck pulling herself up closer to him. It was the first time in a long time that she had not been afraid, and it felt good. Kaoru knew he would not do anything to scare her or hurt her... at least nothing that was not going to happen anyway. After all, she was a virgin, but she trusted him... she knew he would make it all Ok. He would make everything turn out all right, and she did not feel frightened at all.

_I wonder if I am supposed to be afraid? Is it wrong not to be afraid of my first time?? I wonder if he will think I'm bad if I'm not afraid... But, I can't help it... I'm just not afraid... I want to be with him... I want to...... make love with him?? Oh My... He said he loves me... I know he meant it, I could see it in his eyes... does my not being afraid mean... I love him too? Is this 'love'? Have I gone past where we were just this morning? Can it happen that fast... can a person jump from one level of feeling to another in a matter of hours?? Does it work that way? I know he loves me, but... do I... _

"Kenshin?"

"Hummmm?"

"I love you, too." _I said it, and it feels right... It really feels right... Oh Kenshin, I really do love you... I really do... _

"I was hoping you did, Kao... I was really hoping you did." _Thank-you, God. I think this just about makes us even... If it doesn't, it's damn close... _

***************************************************************** 

A/N: This is the worst cliffy I have ever left you guys with... Gomen nasi!!! But if I kept going it would be a whole nother chapter. Soooooooooo, we all have to wait for the next chapter to see what happens in Kenshin's dorm room (duh, like we don't know what's going to happen). Anyway... I didn't think a 20 page chapter was too cool, so I thought I'd end it before we got to involved. I'll try to get the next chapter out fast so nobody dies... *wink*

Arigatou... Tsuki-san 

p.s. Don't kill me.... please. I have the next chapter already started in my computer.... *covers head to ward off flying projectiles...* I'm doing it... I swear, I'm doing it.... 

Please Review... *U* 


	15. Dance With Me

A/N: The Chapter is going to contain some heavy lime activity between Our favorite couple, so if you are someone who is uncomfortable with that... you may want to skim the chapter instead of reading it... or perhaps not read it at all.

A/N: In some worlds/cultures, Samhain (All Hallow's Eve-Halloween) is believed to be a special night. It is the night when ghosts, goblins, zombies, witches/worlocks, demons, and devils rise to walk the world unfettered. In the old times, people used to put food out on their doorsteps for these creatures for appeasement so that they would eat the food and leave the family alone. That is kind of how trick or treating came to be. Feed the spook so they don't eat or kill you. Nifty.

Haruko: Stopped giggling long enough to beta-read this. O.o;; But I still felt like giggling anyway. Ehehehehehe Do review, Tsuki-san's marvellous story-telling taught me one thing: Don't ever put anything in the story that you don't plan to use again. Marvellous.

Note: I am going to start putting my Author replies at the ends of my chapters. Thank-you Everyone. Kanzen ne Tsuki 

Chapter Fifteen

Dance With Me

Navigating through the moonlit campus was fairly easy, and getting back into the dorm was not much of a problem either, but getting back into his room without anyone seeing was a little harder. Kenshin had to put Kaoru back down on her feet so she could fall in behind him and let him lead the way through the building. He carefully took them past the more crowded areas by using the stairs, and then they were down to basically sneaking up the hallway to his room hoping to hell that no one would come out of their room before they reached it.

Luckily they didn't run into anyone that required an explanation before Kenshin was pulling Kaoru into his third story room and closing the door behind them. With a single twist of his wrist, he turned the lock and the door was secure ensuring that they would have no surprise visitors.

"Whew..." Kenshin ran a hand across his forehead in relief as he turned around to face a giggling Kaoru. "What are you laughing at, Tanuki?" He asked with a smile as he closed the distance between them and slipped his arms around her waist. "What's so funny?"

"Us... everything..."

"How so?"

"Sneaking around like that... I felt like James Bond and his Bimbo..." Kenshin burst into chuckles and hugged her close as she giggled with him.

"Ok, but you get to be the 'bimbo', all right?" He winked playfully at ther.

"All right." She winked back. "Can I carry one of those really cool guns? You know? Like the one Vin Diesel had in that triple X movie with all those different dart thingy's?"

"Sure, Baby..." He started laughing harder as he tried to picture Kaoru dressed up like a sexy James Bond type girl with that great big gun. "You can have anything you want."

"Can I have you...?" The soft throaty whisper that brushed along his throat and ear sent a shudder of desire through him as well as effectively stopping his laughter on the spot.

"Do you want me, tanuki?"

"Um-hum... I do."

"Well... I did tell you that you could have anything you wanted didn't I?" He started nuzzling his nose into the hair covering her throat and felt her tremble in his arms.

"Yes... You did... can I have something else too?"

"What do you want?" He asked lifting an elegant eyebrow at her.

"A fast shower... I want to wash this paint off my face and all this flour out of my hair before we... before you..." She stuttered into embarrassed silence while he bent down and gently brushed a light kiss against her mouth trying to calm her down.

"I understand... you can use my shower, Kao... but you better hurry."

"Hurry?" She pulled back and looked questioningly into his mischievously smiling face. "Why?"

"Because if you don't, I'm coming in there after you."

"Oh!" It was a high-pitched squeak of shock followed by an enormous widening of her eyes, and Kenshin knew she had gone bright red beneath all that white face paint. "I-I'll hurry..." And she turned to dash off across the room toward the small bathroom where she closed the door hurriedly behind her. Kenshin began to laugh as he heard the small lock 'click' into place.

_You don't really think that would keep me out if I wanted to come in, do you tanuki?_

Laughing again, Kenshin walked back across the room while unbuckling the strap that held his sword and took it off. Next he sat down on his bed and pulled off his boots setting them off to the side. His socks quickly followed. Now dressed only in the white shirt and black mid shin length breeches, he found himself feeling nervous as he raked his trembling fingers through his thick red hair and then locked them behind his neck while resting his elbows on his knees.

_I'm nervous... _He thought with irony. _She's the Virgin, and I'm the one whose nervous. _

It seemed only a moment had gone by when the bathroom door opened with its customary squeak, but Kenshin did not hear it he was so lost in his own thoughts of what was to come. Nor did he hear or notice the girl walking slowly across the carpeted floor in his direction until she reached out and brushed her gentle hand down the back of his head. Marginally startled, Kenshin's head jerked up at her touch, and then he grew still... still as stone as he gazed at the vison of perfection standing in front of him, and he found himself all but completely speechless.

"K-Kao..." Large luminous purple eyes blinked in disbelief as he absorbed the picture she made before him with her long damp ebony hair hanging partially over one shoulder and the rest out of view down her back. Her eyes were rounded pools of the deepest blue he had ever seen and there seemed to be no end to their shimmering depth as he found himself becoming lost within their warm and loving gaze. But what most unnerved him about her appearance was the fact that she was standing before him wearing nothing but one of his towels which she was holding closed between her breasts with one hand; otherwise, she was nude._ Oh God... Kao... you're beautiful... beautiful..._

__Rising a little unsteadily to his feet, Kenshin tentatively reached out with his right hand and cupped Kaoru's left cheek in his palm, and sighing with pleasure, she pushed her face against his touch and closed her eyes. A rush of heat surged through his body as he cupped her other cheek in his other hand and gently pulled her toward him. Tenderly he let the tip of his tongue trace the outline of her lips until he heard a low moan coming from her and her mouth opened beneath him. Slipping his tongue inside of her waiting mouth, he fused their lips together and let his arms go around her body and pull her against him in a full contact embrace. Her response was to wrap her arms around his waist and hug him close to her as well... the towel was totally forgotten.

As Kenshin released her mouth and burned a trail of moist kisses down the line of her throat, Kaoru whimpered and arched her back pressing herself more tightly against him as she felt the need to be closer rise within her, and then she began to tremble. Reaching between them, Kenshin pulled her arms from his waist and maneuvered them up and around his shoulders and neck so that he had freer access to the softness of her body's curves, and so that she had better leverage to pull against. Almost immediately his hands fell to her terry cloth-covered breasts and he gently cupped them in his palms. She shuddered in response and fisted both hands deeply into his thick red hair.

"Ken-shin..." His name fell brokenly from her lips as she felt his hands on her gently _touching... arousing... asking... ** OoooooOOOoooo yyeeeessss.... **_

"Kao.... I-I want... I want you... so much..." _So much more than I ever knew it was possible to want anything... Oh God, Honey... I love you. _"Do you still trust me?"

"I... I still t-trust you." She watched as he pulled away and looked deep into her eyes, his had gone that deep astonished golden color again, and Kaoru caught her breath at the depth of emotion she read easily within those glowing orbs. "Kenshin..." She whispered huskily as she let her hand caress the smoothness of his face tenderly. "You are so beautiful to me... so utterly beautiful and wonderful... I really do love you."

"You do?" Golden eyes searched her face as his hands slid to the vulnerable sway in the small of her back pulling her lower body against the hardened length of him. "Are you really sure about this... Kaoru? Are you absolutely sure... because if you aren't..."

"Shhhhhh..." A slender delicate finger was pressing against his lips silencing the rest of his question as she rose up and touched the tip of her nose to his. "I'm sure." 

"You won't regret it later?"

"No, I won't regret it later."

"You won't hate me tomorrow?"

"No, I won't hate you tomorrow." 

"I couldn't stand it if you..." His eyes closed and buried his face against her throat and shuddered in her arms.

"Don't..." Her hands began to stoke his long hair and then she was rocking him against her body. "Kiss me, Kenshin... Kiss me again... Please?"

"Oh God, Kao..." The raggedness of his voice belied the state of his feelings so when his hungry lips seized hers in a voracious kiss of heated passion, Kaoru was partially prepared, but not completely. Heat and desire flooded her senses at the same time as one of his hands rose to cup the back of her head thus increasing the pressure of his mouth on hers, and as her lips parted, he thrust his tongue deeply inside the moist cavern wringing a hoarse whimpering cry from her as her body melted into his embrace.

As Kaoru's arms wound tightly around Kenshin's neck, her tongue began dancing against his as it rubbed and stroked along the insides of her mouth. This brought a deep throaty growl from him and the hand that was cupping her head grabbed a handful of her damp raven locks and pulled her head back exposing the arch of her swan fragile throat. Strong white teeth began nipping a pathway of fire down to her collarbone and over to the rounded curve of her shoulder, and Kaoru gasped at the strange passionate contact and the amount of heat it produced within her body. A sudden rush of sexual arousal and sensation suddenly filled her lower body and she realized that she was wet. It was at that moment that she felt Kenshin's hand reach between them and remove the towel that was wrapped around her naked body. Kaoru heard a distinct 'thud' as it was dropped to the floor, and then it hit her. 

_I'm naked! Kenshin's holding me, and I'm naked... Oh God.... Oh God..._

_Shhhh.... You are so beautiful... Oh Honey... you are sooo beautiful..._

__She felt his mouth dip down to her chest and in the space of a breath, he was gently sucking on one of her pink nipples, his tongue drawing little circles around it as he pulled it deeply into his mouth.

"Kennn..." The hands that were buried in his hair fisted tighter and unconsciously began pulling. Kenshin winced slightly against the pain, and then pushed it from his mind as he turned his attention to her other breast.

"You're beautiful, Kao..." He whispered against the creamy alabaster of her skin as he knelt down in front of her trailing kisses through the valley of her breasts and down over her stomach. "You're a Goddess, Baby... An absolute Goddess..." And as he twirled his tongue into her belly button, Kaoru groaned deeply and grabbed his shoulders for support so she wouldn't fall. Then he slowly stood back up and swiftly swung her up into his arms and tuned around to gently lay her on the bed behind them. Quickly he pulled off his shirt and then followed her down laying his weight on top of her. Her arms were open waiting for him, and wrapped around his shoulders again once he was positioned.

"How do you feel?" He asked her gently as he smoothed some stray black hairs out of her flushed face.

"I-I don't know... strange, I guess." Her eyes were huge in her face as she gazed into the liquid gold of his gaze. "But I'm not afraid."

"I love you... do you know that?" Bending down to her, he tenderly pressed a soft moist kiss into her swollen parted lips. "I love you so much, Kao... You're everything to me."

"Kenshin," Her hands brushed his hair out of his eyes and tucked it behind his ears as she softly kissed him back. "I love you too... You are the only person I have trusted since my parents died... and you are the only person who has never let me down since then either... You're my best friend." His face lit up in a beautiful smile and he bent down to nuzzle her nose.

"You're mine too, tanuki... You're mine too."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me... More than you know."

"You're welcome."

"Kenshin?"

"What Honey?"

"Do you still want to... um... do you..."

"Still want to play hide-n-seek?" He asked as a wicked twinkled filled his golden eyes.

"Yes..." An embarrassed flush filled her face as she giggled and pulled up to hide in the curve of his shoulder.

"Absolutely." And before Kaoru could respond to that, he had pulled her head down by her hair and captured her mouth once more with his. When he let her up for air, she was panting for breath and he was breathing heavily. It took only a moment for him to dispatch the rest of his clothes and to retrieve a condom from his desk, and then he was tenderly pulling her beneath him again. The blankets came next, and Kenshin pulled them up until they covered he and Kaoru to the waist. (He thought this would make her feel less self-conscious.)

"Kao?" He looked down at her as he gently lowered himself between her thigh's. "It will hurt a little. I'm sorry."

"I know. It's Ok."

"I'll go slow... I promise." And he tenderly began to kiss her again with his mouth and his tongue until he had her moaning and moving beneath him. His hands gently massaged her soft breasts and then moved beneath her to cup her butt and urge her hips up against the hardness of him. This brought a hoarse ragged moan from her and she arched into his body. This expected response from her still made him quake with desire and need, and Kenshin gently let himself enter her body.

Just as he promised her, he went slow letting her get used to having him inside of her. But the pain was unavoidable; however, when it came, it was much less worse than it could have been if he had not taken care to prepare her properly. And being the person he was, he made it up to her with several mind and soul shattering orgasms that made her first time everything she could have ever dreamed of... and everything he had hoped to give her. 

***********************************************************************

10:30 p.m.

A quick stop at her dormitory to redo her make-up and hair, and then Kenshin and Kaoru were running across campus to make their appearance at the dance.

"Do you think anyone noticed we aren't there?" Kaoru cast a worried glance at the handsome profile of her boyfriend as they hurried up the sidewalk toward the Gym.

"I doubt it. Everybody's probably too involved with their own dates to notice anything else that's going on around them." _At least I hope so... Of course, knowing Megumi, and the busy body gossip monger she is... who knows._

__"I hope you're right... I don't know what we would say if anyone asks why we are late." _Good Lord! What would we say?!_

__"Don't worry about it, Honey. I'll take care of it if anyone does, Ok?" _I'll think of something. I have no idea what at the moment... but I'll think of something._

__"Ok..." Breathless, they burst through the doors of the Gymnasium and were abruptly greeted by the psychedelic lights caused by the Ballroom ball hanging from the ceiling as well as the little glowing ghosty-lights that they had hung earlier that morning. Dozens of teenage couples in a multitude of costumes were milling around inside; some were dancing, some were gathered in odd groups talking, laughing, or just setting. A large group had gathered around the snack table where a mountain of cakes, cookies, ice-cream, frozen yogurt, and several different kinds of punch had been laid out for the enjoyment of the dancers. It was there that Kenshin spotted Sano and Megumi.

"There's Sano... Come on."

"Sano?"

"Yes... over by the snack table." Kenshin point out the tall senior who was unmistakable in his brown fedora hat. "See him?" 

"Oh, Ok... There's Megumi too... Great." The last was spoken with less than sincere enthusiasm and Kenshin laughed as he hugged her to his side.

"It's going to be Ok. So stop worrying. I told you I'd handle it, and I will."

"I know... but you know how she is." Kaoru leaned against his shoulder and sighed heavily in exasperation. "She's just so damned nosey about everything, you know?"

"I know, but she doesn't know a thing... and she's not going to." _Not if I can help it._

__"All right... I trust you."

"Good, then calm down." They walked over to the table and Kenshin playfully punched Sano in the shoulder almost making the tall teen choke on the piece of cake he was shoving into his mouth.

"Hey, cut it out, you could kill me doing that shit." Brown eyes glared at the smiling red head as Sano brushed crumbs off the from of his shirt. "Where you guy's been anyway? We haven't seen you all night?"

"Where you guys been?" Kenshin raised his eyebrows quizzically in the other couple's direction as he favored them with a piercing glance. "We haven't seen you either." 

"Ahhh..." Sano cast a worried look down at Megumi who had gone a deep shade of red that almost matched her velvet skirt, and then turned back to Kenshin and Kaoru's expectant faces. "We ahhh... we've been here all night... I guess we just been missing each other in here. There are a lot of people you know."

"Yes, there are a lot of people in here." _Ah ha... you two haven't been in here either... I wonder where YOU have been and WHAT you have been doing? Sano, you dog... _"So, how's the punch and the cake?"

"Not bad... the punch needs to be spiked though... you didn't bring anything with you did ya?"

"SANOSUKE!" Megumi punched him hard in the arm. "You promised no booze."

"Ahhh, come on, Babe... just a little." He gave her a pleading look. "This party sucks... everybody is so boring... there's no noise."

"There's not supposed to be, dummy. It's a dance-party, not a party-party. Geez."

"You know girl, sometimes you're a real drag."

"Watch your mouth, funny boy, or you're going to be dancing alone."

"Yeah... whatever."

"Sano... I'm warni..."

"Hey, Himura... I want to talk to you." Everyone's eyes shifted to the other side of the table as Ruakii Saitou and Tomoe Yukishiro appeared out of the darkness.

"What's on your mind, Ruakii." Kenshin stiffened slightly at the tone in the other boys voice. Kaoru had told him how Ruakii had stood up for him when the Cops were there earlier that day questioning everyone about the fight between him and his father, and how he had helped her take him to his room... but he still didn't trust the silver-haired teen any more than he had before.

"Your brother."

"What about Soujiro?"

"He's all over my sister, man." Ruakii glared at Kenshin angrily and pointed over his shoulder indicating a spot out on the dance floor. Everyone turned around and searched the crowd of bodies until they found the brown haired skeleton and the Fairy Queen in the turquoise dress. They were dancing to a slow song, and it did appear they were moving about a bit close together for having only just met.

"Hmmmm, Ok," Kenshin narrowed his eyes at the picture in front of him and carefully noted the placement of his brothers hands as well as Quii's and decided that the whole thing looked pretty harmless. "What's the problem? They are dancing... so what?"

"Don't you think they are a little bit too close? Quii is only 15 you know."

"She is almost 16, Ruakii." Megumi pipped up looking daggers at her ex-boyfriend. "Her birthday is next month."

"I know when her fucking birthday is, Miss Prissy-Pants. I don't need YOU to remind me."

"That's a switch..." Megumi sneered. "I remember when you couldn't care less when it WAS her birthday."

"SHUT-UP! I'm not talking to you, Ok? I'm talking to Himura. And I want to know what sort of guy your brother is... Is he going to take advantage of her? Cause if he is that kind of a prick... I'm gonna be all over him like stink on shit." Angry brown eyes raked over Kenshin's frame as Ruakii squared his shoulders and spread his feet for balance. "And if you don't like that idea, we can settle that right here."

"Calm down, Ruakii." Kenshin waved off the other teens anger as if it were nothing more than an annoyance to him. "Soujiro is a complete Gentleman. He would NEVER do anything to hurt OR dishonor Quii. He's a straight up guy."

"If you are shitting me, Himura I swear..."

"I know you swear, Ruakii. So do I... frequently, but my brother is not a prick, besides, if he did anything to Quii or any other girl for that matter, he knows I'd be all over him like a bad cold."

"You'd beat up your own brother?" Ruakii looked at Kenshin skeptically. "Bullshit!"

"You don't believe me?"

"Hell no."

"Well, why don't we find out."

"What?" Ruakii's face turned shocked and stunned as he watched Kenshin walked away from the group and purposefully interrupt the dancing couple. Shortly he had them coming back with him to join the rest of the others so that the conversation could be continued.

"What is this all about, Ruakii?" Quii glared furiously at her brother as she planted both hands on her hips. "Why can't you stay the hell out of my business?"

"I'm your brother, that's why." He snarled back at her as he moved to stare down into her angry face. "I'm supposed to look out for you."

"Right. Since when?"

"Since you started to attract male attention."

"Excuse Me?!! What is that supposed to me?" She leaned up into his angry visage until their noses were touch and then proceeded to snap at him like a furious wolverine. "Are you trying to tell me that now that I am old enough to start dating or having a boyfriend, that you are going to be acting like a bigger asshole that usual? Because if you are, I think I am going to have to tell you what I think about that... I think it sucks! Ok... I think it bites major because you have never given too damns what happened to me before, so why now... why? Huh? Why?"

"Do you have any idea who you are dancing with, Quii?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do, you big ape. His name is Soujiro, and he's Kenshin's brother. And he has been nothing but a Gentleman from the very moment we met. That's who I'm dancing with... and now... and now..." Suddenly her voice broke and her chin began to quiver uncontrollably. "Now you've ruined everything. I think I hate you." 

"Quii! I'm just trying to keep you from getting into trouble." Ruakii was suddenly feeling like he had just made one of the biggest mistakes of his whole life. "That's all."

"Oh yeah... well next time you get the urge to pretend to be my 'wonderful big brother'... DON"T!" And she turned and fled out of the Gym with black mascara tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You fucking asshole." Megumi hissed as she shoved Ruakii. "Why can't you just leave her alone for once."

"Shut-up, Megumi... this is none of your business anymore."

"The hell its not... Quii is still my friend, and I still care what happens to her."

"WE all care what happens to her, Megumi." Kaoru looked over at Ruakii and watched the pained look that crossed his thin face as he stared at the door where Quii had disappeared. "You shouldn't have done that, Ruakii. Or at least done it differently."

"I guess... I'm just ... I..." He dropped his head and fell into silence.

"It's ok, Baby." Tomoe gently brushed the hair away from the side of his face. "She'll get over it. You'll see."

"She might not, Tomoe." His voice sounded very small. "She said something to me the night we went to the lighthouse."

"What did she say??"

"She said that the day might come that I'd say or do something that she wouldn't forgive me for... and that I'd be sorry... and that I'd miss her when she didn't talk to me or listen to me anymore."

"That wouldn't happen... Quii's your sister. She loves you."

"Yeah... but did you see her face... I really think I did it this time... I really think she hates me."

"I'm going to go talk to her, Kenshin." Kaoru's soft touch on Kenshin's arm brought his attention back to her, and he nodded gently into the concerned face.

"Maybe that would be a good idea. As much as she was crying, she probably didn't go very far." He kissed her softly and then watched as she headed out the door that Quii had disappeared through. _I hope that little girl is all right._

__"I should go too, Kenshin." Soujiro turned to follow Kaoru, but Kenshin stopped him.

"Not yet. Let Kao talk to her first... calm her down, and then you can talk to her. I think you and I and Ruakii need to talk, don't you?"

"I suppose. Kenshin?"

"What?"

"I wouldn't hurt her."

"I know that."

"She's the most beautiful girl I ever saw in my life... I would never do anything to hurt her or cause her pain. I couldn't."

"We'll figure this out, little brother. But first, we got to deal with her brother."

"Yes, I suppose we do."

************************************************************************

"Quii? Quii Saitou?" Kaoru called loudly as she stepped outside into the cold night air one more time that night, and looking around, she began to wonder which way the distraught girl would have run. "Quii?!" Walking to the right, she headed toward the girls dorm, and after going only a few steps, heard the soft pitiful noise of crying. She grasped up her long skirt and ran towards the noise quickly finding the source. Quii sat curled up next to one of the old trees leaning against the old rough trunk crying into her hands.

"Oh Quii..." Kaoru knelt down next to the sobbing young girl and gently put her arms around her and pulled her close. "Don't cry, sweetie... It will be Ok."

"N-no it won't. R-ruakii will n-never let anything b-be Ok."

"Yes, he will, you'll see. Kenshin and Soujiro will talk to him, and everything will be just fine."

"S-souji-ro is s-so sweet, K-kaoru... H-he said I w-was beau-tiful."

"Of course he did, silly. You are beautiful."

"N-no I'm n-not."

"Yes, you are. All that gorgeous reddish brown hair, and those big topaz eyes... your drop-dead, Honey." 

"You r-really think s-so?" Pulling away from Kaoru, Quii looked disbelievingly into her dark eyes. "You wouldn't just t-tell me that t-to try and m-make me feel b-better would you?"

"No, Quii, I wouldn't. I don't like lies... they hurt."

"Yes, they do." Looking down at her gloved hands, Quii reached out and grasped one of Kaoru's and held it tightly. "I don't like lies either... or the people who tell them."

"I will never lie to you, Quii. I promise."

"Thanks, Kaoru. That means a lot to me." A small smile curved her lips as she looked up at the older girl. "Do you think Soujiro likes me?"

"He called you beautiful, didn't he?"

"Yes, but..."

"Listen Quii. If I have learned anything about these brothers it's this... they don't play games, and they don't lie. So if he told you he thought you were beautiful, then he meant it. And whatever else he told you... he meant that too. I firmly believe Soujiro would never lie to you, and I don't believe he would ever intentionally hurt you either."

"I don't either."

"Ok, then... should we go back inside?"

"Yes... I guess it was pretty stupid of me to run out like that."

"No, I don't think so... I probably would have done the same thing."

"Really? You would have?"

"Probably."

"Oh... then you don't think I'm stupid."

"Nope. I don't think you're stupid."

"Thanks."

"Hey, we're friends, aren't we? And friends stick together." The girls smiled at each other and then stood up to brush off their clothes. "Let's go."

"I don't think you'll be going anywhere tonight, me love... Unless you be coming with me."

Kaoru froze as a voice she thought never to have heard again drifted out of the darkness and washed over her skin leaving her feeling cold and nauseous. As she and Quii turned around both froze unable to move or even scream. From out of the darkness before them walked Hiko Seijuro, but it was not quite Hiko anymore... It was more.

"Well, well, well... two pretties for the price of one... A laddy can't get much luckier than that." And then the night was filled with coarse rancid laughter as the tall large dark-haired man with glowing green eyes advanced on the terrified girls. "Now come with ole' Daniel quietly and no one will get 'urt... not yet." That was the moment Kaoru and Quii began to scream, but before they could move to run, the ghost possessed man lunged and was upon them. With two well placed cuffs the girls fell to the ground unconscious. "Aya... pretty things... me Cassie, we be together again soon my Princess... so soon... so soon."

Kenshin, Soujiro, Sano, and Ruakii came running out of the Gym at full speed having heard the terrified screams and were just in time to see the hulking form of Hiko Seijuro picking up the limp bodies of the two girls.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Kenshin screamed as he dashed towards the horrifying scene only to find that they had all seemed to have disappeared into thin air. "WHERE ARE YOU, DAMMIT!!"

"In your dreams, me boy..." The voice floated on the cold night breeze. "Look for me in your dreams... Fetlock ...in your dreeeeaaaamms."

"DAAAANNNIIEELLL!!" Kenshin dropped to his knees as all sense of Kaoru disappeared from his soul, and despair settled in her place. "God... Help me.........." Soujiro, Sano, and Ruakii stared and the grief stricken red-head not yet understand what had happened. But they would soon enough... soon enough. 

Hiko Seijuro/Daniel March flew through the midnight blue skies with the two unconscious girls tucked under each arm. The crash of the back ocean lay far below, and his glowing green eyes could see the haven of the Lighthouse just over the bluff and an evil hollow laugh escaped his throat as he approached its haven.

"Samhain Night." He shouted up at the full moon as he shot over the water. "Blessed be the night of Samhain when the dead may rise and fly over the land and sea... HAHAHAHAHAHA!" His maniacal laughter was lost in the wind as it streaked past his shimmering face.

Samhain Night... All Hallow's Eve... when the dead shall rise and walk among the living... when all things are possible, and there is nothing to stand in the way of unrequited love... or obsession. And a little bit of witchcraft and black-magic for a flying spell can work wonders when put to use in the hands of one who is knowlegeable.

"**_IN YOUR DREAMS_**...."

********************************************************************

**Lendra-chan**-I can relate about the review box problem. :{ I am flattered that you like my story, and I appreciate the fact that you took the time to review it. I looked up your FanFic and read it. I liked it very much and plan on posting it on my Website. Good luck with it, and keep writing. The more an author practices, the better he or she becomes.

**Baseballfreak202**-If your reading this, then you already answered your own question. ^_~ Thanx for Reading and Reviewing.

**The -Lone-Lemon**-I'm glad you like my 'kisses' descriptions. I try very hard to make them believable. One reason is because kissing is one of my own favorite pass times, and as My Husband happens to be an 'Outstanding' kisser, I always have excellent material to pull from. 

**Angle1**-I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter… I certainly wouldn't want to leave you twitching on the floor. :D (You are sooooo funny… I love your reviews… You make me laugh) I hope you hang around for a long long time.)

**HaPPy_BuNNy**-I don't know if you liked what happened at the dance or not… but I did have them go. I had decided a long time ago that they would make it through the 'love scene' but not the dance. One of the scenes had to get 'blown' for them. After all, they have always had rotten luck of one kind or another, but I am glad you like the story. Hope you aren't too disappointed.

**Alex**-if your reading this, then you know (like baseball freak) that they took the big plunge. I hope I lived up to your expectations. Thanks for the review. J

**Shadow**-hope this update came soon enough for you. *wink* Thank you for reading and reviewing. It means a lot to me that you took time to do both. God Bless.

**Heartbraker2007**-Did you like the chapter? I hope so. I am grateful that your reading and that the story is interesting enough to bring you back enough to leave a review. God Bless.

**kik-ting**-Yes… I realized it was indeed 20 pages after Haruko had sent it back to me, and I laughed because there was no way I could back into the chapter and change what I wrote…. I knew it was going to sound weird and funny in case anyone noticed. But, hey… I'm weird and funny, so what the heck. :D I am sorry if you had to read this after the house was empty or if you had to pass it by…. In case you did have to pass it by, I will send this by e-mail as well just so I can say 'Thank you' for being there and reading/reviewing for me. It is muchly appreciated. God Bless young one. "OOPS! No E-mail address. L

**Mishorou Mie**-Sorry about the cliffy. Hope I made up for it. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I appreciate it very much. J

**Sakura Fae**-I have wanted to tell you… you have the sweetest screen name J. I'm glad you love the story. I am thankful for your reviews. You are always so nice. Thanks.

**xia_xue**-sorry about the blushing thing (NOT) heehawed. I guess you probably look like an over ripe Tomato by now, huh. J Thanks for the reviews. You always make me smile. 

**Secret**-Thanks. I'm glad you like it. I hope this update was soon enough. I try to update once a week. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't. I have 3 fictions going at the moment, so I get kinda swamped sometime… but I do try. Thanks for the review. They help me to keep my chin up when I get discouraged.

**chibiBattousai**-sooo sorry about that last cliffy… it was bad, ne? heehawed ! I knew everybody was gonna get a little bent out of shape J. Thanks for your review… You always make me laugh. I love your reviews. Whenever I see your name in my box, it makes me smile. God Bless.

**BelleDayNight**-Belle, Belle, Belle… You were right about their 'bad luck'. You are getting to know me too well. Heehawed. I love to read your reviews, and I love seeing your name in my review box. You shamelessly flatter me… you make me blush, you've put lumps in my throat… and I have come to value your opinion. Thank you so much for sticking around for so long. I really do appreciate everything you say. It means more to me than you know. God Bless, my friend.

**mou21**-You sounded soooo excited . :D I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. I would hate to dampen such a wave of pure enthusiasm… your review was short, but baby, it ROCKED!

**Videl21**- Videl!! It's my Videl!!! Oh how I love to see your name… I love it I love it!! You are so Awesome! You have a way of making me laugh and feel humbly grateful all at the same time. Thank you so much. I love reading what you have to say. It always makes me feel good about what I've written. You're the Greatest, baby… Thanks!

**Blade_of_Fire**-I hope I got the chapter out soon enough so you didn't 'die'. If your reading this I will assume that you are still alive *wink*. I would have been extremely sad had you perished because of my lazy slow-assed fingers. (hehehehehehe). Thanks for the review… I Laughed for a good 2-3 minutes. God Bless.

**JDFielding**-JD, my dear friend! As always you leave me pearls of encouragement and praise. We seem to be swapping that lately. LOL It has become so important to me to know that I am still 'cutting the mustard' where you are concerned. You have been with me for a very long time, and your opinions matter a great deal. I hope this chapter wasn't too 'over the edge' for you… ahem… lemon-limey. I tried not to go too far. I hope I succeeded. I mean, it is nothing like the naughty Lemons I write on AFF.net… I hope it was tasteful and not to graphic. Anyway… as always, I thank you for your opinions and compliments. You are a dear friend. I hope we remain such for a long time. God Bless, Young One… Tsuki-san

**unkown beedee**-OUCH!!!!! The look you sent me burned me alive!!! Youchie!!!! j/k hehehehehe. I knew everyone was going to be mad over the cliffy… but YOU have absolutely no room to talk, Young Lady. YOUR cliffies are positively maddening. I am glad you are still enjoying the story… me, I'm gonna fry your butt if you don't update yours soon. GRRRRR

**lere**-ahhhh… lere, my beloved and dearest friend…. You should know by now that I, Tsuki-san, am capable of anything…. Hehehehehehe…. Especially wickedly evil cliffies. ~_^x But now you have to tell me if you liked this. I couldn't write a full blown lemon because this is FF.net not AFF.net… Have I told you lately that I love you… well, if not, I do. You are someone special to me… You have always been there, and I want everybody to know that, my little Brazilian comfort zone. You support me like no other. God Bless… and may you always have rose petals in your bed. Tsuki-san

**Sick Galaxy**-so you think that was the BEST cliffy every? Thank you. I don't think anyone has every complimented me on my cliffies. They usually try to throw things at me or bite me or something. LOL I am glad you are enjoying the story… I hope you liked the update too.

**Kagura-**Hey, thank you for what you said about 'Weary Day'… you don't know how much THAT meant to me, nor how much you likeing the new Vampire fic does either. I love your review of this story… I am glad you like it as well. Every review I get makes me feel better about my writing and makes me want to do it more… and the more I do, the better at it I am getting. If you are reading my Vamp fic on AFF.net…. Would you be offended if I asked you to review it after you read the chapters? I really would appreciate it… truly I would. My readers opinions mean everything to me. Its important to me to know what they think. Thanks for everything you've said. God Bless. Tsuki-san

A/N: Off to the Lighthouse... Swoooooosh. Hope you liked the Limey. :) 

Please review... I put a lot of work into this chapter... a lot of work. I rewrote it at least 3 times.

Review, review, review.... thankx


	16. Circles in The Pond of Time

A/N: A couple of people wanted to know about the 'condom'... I thought it was pretty obvious... safe sex is an absolute issue for everyone these days. Babies should not be having babies, so, someone has to be responsible enough to take the imitative and be prepared... and seeing as how Kenshin was not a stranger to sex, it was not a real reach in reality that he just might have a few squirreled away in his desk.

Another question was asked about how did the guys hear the girls scream through the noise of the dance? Well, if you remember, Sano said the dance was dead or something because it wasn't noisy enough... and they guys were right by the open door that Quii went out of, and she hadn't gone very far, and was right up against the side of the gym as well... besides, it was more interesting with them hearing. :) Thanks for reading everybody. And thanks for reviewing. Response to reviews after Chapter.

Haruko: Alright, blame it on me. I've been having the story lie in my comp. For eons before touching it. -sigh- Sorry, PMS-ing girl is never a good beta-reader.

Chapter Seventeen

Circles in The Pond of Time

All Hallow's Eve

1:17 a.m.

Kenshin and Soujiro's Dorm Room

"They are at the Lighthouse, dammit!" The voice was closer to a snarl than anything else as Kenshin paced his dorm room in ferocious agitation, the fiery curtain of his long red hair whipping behind him as his whirled to glare with tear filled amber eyes at the four other young men in the room. "We can't just set here and do nothing. We have to go... We have to get them back before... before..."

"Before what, Himura?" Ruakii was suddenly standing toe to toe with the raging volcano of Kenshin's fury, his own dark brown eyes filled with so many different emotions it was difficult to discern just what he was feeling. Anxiety? Remorse? Fury? ... Fear? "Before your Old Man turns them into his little play toys, or what? Huh? What? Just exactly what is that hot-headed crazy-man going to do with them? What?" He was yelling into Kenshin's face as his control began to slip, and before he knew what was happening to him, two very strong and very capable fists had grabbed him by the front of his rhinestone covered Elvis costume and nearly lifted him off the floor.

"Let's get one thing straight right now, Saitou." The red-haired, golden-eyed wolf growled menacingly into the stunned teenager's now pale face. "If it was only my crazy Old Man who had them, it wouldn't be such a tough problem to deal with, but it's not... we're dealing with something and someone so evil you can't possibly begin to understand, and HE is just using my asshole step-father to do his dirty work for him because he can't do it for himself. **_Now_**," Kenshin yanked Ruakii closer to him until their noses were nearly touching and he could almost smell the fear radiating off the other boy. "If you want to be useful to me at all, and you want to get your sister back alive and in one piece, you better start listening to me and doing exactly what I tell you because I'm through fucking around with you, jerk-wad. That asshole has my girl, and I'll be damned if I am going to stand here and just let him have her, so what is it gonna be, Saitou? You willing to play by my rules, or you gonna just keep giving me shit like always?"

"You know, Ruakii, if I was you... and I'm not saying I am, but if I was... I think I'd start playing it by his rules." Sano looked down at his dirty fingernails and blandly began to clean them as he leaned back on Soujiro's new bed. "It's just a suggestion, Buddy, but you might want to think about it."

"Indeed, I think Sanosuke has a valid point... for once in his life." Aoshi's drool voice hinted on a minuscule amount of humor though his face wore its usual bored and blank look. "It would probably behoove you to join his 'pack' instead of fighting against it. In my experience, you never have proven yourself to be much of a leader, my friend, whereas young Himura here, though aloof and distant from his classmates, does tend to exude the authority of a natural leader and would, therefore; have my vote and loyalty long before you ever would... no offense truly intended." Soujiro merely sat cross-legged on the bed with his arms folded across his chest a look of pure intent and absolute trust upon his face.

Kenshin was his brother, and Soujiro knew exactly what he was capable of. He would follow him into the very depths of hell if that was where they had to go... and it was starting to feel like that was where they were going to have to go to get the girls back. All he knew was if anyone was going to be able to do it successfully, it would be Kenshin, and he was going with him. He had to get Quii back, no matter what, he had to get her and if that meant facing his Father and whatever demon's from beyond stood with him, he would.

"What are we waiting for, Brother? Either this pansy-ass goes with us, or he doesn't it is as simple as that. Stop wasting your breath on him and let's make a plan to go get the girls... we've got four good men here without him, we don't need him dragging us down."

"Is that what you would do, Saitou? Drag us down?" Kenshin growled into Ruakii's swollen cow eyes as they filled with uncertainty. "Are you the pansy-ass my little brother says you are? Hmmm? Am I wasting my breath on you or is there something inside of you that is worth my time? Worth your sister's time? Isn't it about time you fucking started thinking about HER and stopped thinking about whether or not you're better than ME? What's more important to YOU? HER or your damn pride?" Tears spilled out of Kenshin's golden eyes and ran heedless down his furious face showing that beneath the anger, beneath the ferocity of his rage lay a heart filled with terror and pain, and a soul that was quacking in mindless fear that he may lose the one thing that he had come to treasure and cherish above all other things... beneath the fury of his Wolf the Angel within him cried out for the other half of his soul, it cried for Kaoru.

"I... I-I...sh-she is..." As the first tear since he was five years old slid down his face, Ruakii finally understood something about himself... something deep, dark, and harsh and he didn't like it. He was selfish, self-centered, and painfully self-serving. It had been more important to him to place the blame at the tortured red-head's feet than it had been to figure out a way to save his only sister, and the weight of that guilt crushed down upon his heart so heavy he suddenly felt smothered and closed in. "Q-Quii..." Her name was a prayer of forgiveness as it twisted its way free from the tightness of his throat, and to his astonishment he watched the fury within those terrifying molten gold eyes begin to soften just a bit.

"That's right, Saitou... Quii. It's all about HER... her and My Kao." Slowly, kindly Kenshin lowered the other teen to the floor and carefully disengaged his fists from the front of his shirt. "It's not about you or me or even my crazy old man. It's about those two scared little girls wondering whose going to come and get them out... who's coming to rescue them, and when, and who's going to make everything all right. That is what it's all about, my friend, not whose better or whose at fault or who needs to take the blame. All of that is _bullshit_... it doesn't matter to them, and it shouldn't matter to us. They are the only things that should matter to us."

"I-I know." Ruakii bent his head in shame as his guilt continued to consume him, but then he felt Kenshin's hand resting on his shoulder and he looked up into the steadfast golden gaze.

"So, will you help me... will you help US find a way to get them back? I... WE could really use a guy like you to help us out, and I know how much your little sister would love to see your face when we pull them outta there. What do you say, Ruakii? Will you help me?" Ruakii's eyes widened in astonishment for two reasons as he looked into the earnest face of the young man who had been his worst rival for over three years. First, he had actually called him by his first name without it sounding like an insult, and Second, he had asked him to help HIM... not all of them like he had at first, but He, Himself... Kenshin. He was asking Ruakii to help him. Ruakii felt like the wind had just been knocked out of him, and all he could do was stare and try to think of something to say.

"I-I... ahh..."

"Geez, he's flipped his pancake, man." Sano looked into the damp blank eyes and motioned at the working soundless mouth as he shook his head and traded glances with a bemused Aoshi. "Out to lunch for sure."

"Hmmmm, perhaps... give him a moment, Sanosuke. He has just suffered a tremendous shock, you know." Sano snorted and went back to cleaning his fingernails while Soujiro heaved a sigh of frustration. Sometimes Kenshin was just too... patient.

"Ruakii? You Ok, Buddie?" Kenshin reached out with his other hand and placed it on Ruakii's opposite shoulder in an attempt to offer the stunned youth some support as he began to sway a little.

"I-I'm fine... I just... I never th-thought I'd hear you talk to me like that."

"Yeah, well... don't get too used to it... I still don't like you much." Ruakii's head shot up and he met Kenshin's hard stare and understood. An alliance was one thing, a friendship had to be earned... just like trust.

"I got it... guess that makes us even. I still don't like you much either."

"Good. That'll keep us both sharp. So, what do you say? You coming?" The moment of polite asking was past, but the bridge was still open and Ruakii knew if he was going to join the 'pack' it was now or never, so the young 'wolf' reached out his hand toward the 'Leader' as he met the fierceness of the golden gaze.

"Yes, Sir... I'm coming." A dangerous smile curved half of Kenshin's mouth as he looked hard into Ruakii's clear eyes, and for once he saw nothing but truth and determination.

"Then welcome in, my friend." He reached out and the two old rivals clasped hands in a strong grip that had both of them white-knuckling it... though it was purely unintentional. "Now then, let's get down to business... time is wasting and we don't have all night."

"Isn't that the truth..." Soujiro muttered under his breath and then flinched slightly as he received a furious glare from his brother. "Sorry..."

"You're the one who said we need to plan." Kenshin bit out as his golden crystals raked across his brother's apologetic face.

"I know," He bit back as his own anger started to rise beneath the burn of those furious eyes. "I ALSO said we didn't need** HIM**."

"I beg to differ, Mr. I-Know-Everything, _WE_ do need **HIM**. _WE_ need him a great deal."

"What the hell for?" Soujiro hissed as he shoved himself off his bed and met his brother's angry glare with one of his own. "If it wasn't for him, the girl's would have never gone outside in the first place, and that maniac would have never grabbed them. If it wasn't for him and his selfish rotten attitude, Quii would still be here and we wouldn't have any plans to make. And if it wasn't for HIM..."

**_"THAT IS ENOUGH!"_** Kenshin roared into the startled and shocked face of his brother who stumbled back away from him as his control on his anger slipped once more. "I said we were not going to stand here and throw the blame at each other... _AND I MEANT IT!" _Swinging around to include everyone in the whole room, he carefully locked eyes with each of his friends and they both nodded in agreement beneath his stare. Slowly he looked back at his brother who was eyeing him with angry respect. "No blame, Sou." He said in as gentle a voice as he could muster at the moment. "No blame and no arguing... not now. Quii needs Ruakii to be there no matter what you may feel toward him personally, SHE needs him, understand? He's her brother."

"I understand, but he better not get in my way."

"You're going to walk into God knows what kind of battle we may be facing with an attitude like that about one of your comrades? Are you out of your foolish little mind?"

"No, not really. I just don't want him to get too close to me, or else I may 'tell' him what I think of the way he treated Quii... and myself."

"So, it's personal, is that it? You're going to let one asshole opinion warp your better judgement just because it pissed you off?"

"That is NOT what I'm doing!"

"Isn't it? HE was worried about his little sister dancing too close with some guy he didn't know and he knew damn well SHE didn't know..."

"What does that have to do with what he did? He was brutal with her!"

"What would you have done if it were Cleo dancing with the brother of your worst rival? How would you have handled it, Genius? Tell me how you would have done it all so much better, tell me how you would have kept your cool and not made an ass of yourself or said a whole lot of things that you didn't really mean. Go on... tell me how you would have done it differently and not had it all blow up in your face, tell me that you're smarter than he is when it comes to OUR little sister."

"I am," His face had turned white during Kenshin's tirade as he had heard way too many variables to deal with, and way too many things that made him think maybe he would not have done any better of a job if he were put in the same position. "I would never... I... I would always... I couldn't.... I.... I... dammit, Kenshin. That's not a fair comparison. Cleo's not even old enough to date."

"She will be one day... what will you do then?"

"I don't know... I guess I'll try not to act like an asshole."

"I'm sure she would appreciate it. So would I." Soujiro looked up into his brother's face and found the fury once more contained, and in its place the hint of understanding for his feelings. "I know how much you care for Quii... already." Kenshin smirked and shook his head ruefully. "It seems to be a natural flaw we have, both you and I it would seem, to practically fall in love at first sight, and it only gets bigger and stronger the closer you get to her."

"Y-you and Kaoru?"

"Yes... me and Kao. I love her more than anything else in this world Sou. She's like the other half of my soul, and there is no way I can just stand here when I know HE'S got her out there. I just can't, she... she is too precious to my life, and I have to go." He turned and walked away from the four stunned and gapping mouths and moved to looked out the window into the night. "She's waiting for me to come. I know she is, and I have to do something because she is depending on me..because she trusts me... and because... because she loves me too."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to the planning and go get them." Sano jumped up off the bed and moved to stand beside his friend. "We are all in agreement, Man... You're in charge here, so let's get moving already. Your Old Man can't have gotten them all the way to the lighthouse already, hell, it took us longer than this that one night, and we weren't packing a couple of unconscious girls. I bet if we left now, we could catch him on the beach and..."

"It isn't 'my old man' who has the girls, Sano." Kenshin cut of his friends excited string of thought as he turned to face the others again. "If it was just Hiko, it would be simple, but it's not."

"Huh, what are you talking about? What do you mean it's not him whose got the girls? We all saw him... even if it was only for a couple of seconds there was no denying who it was."

"I know who it looked like, Sano, but what we SAW was a means to an end, not the actual perpetrator who took the girls."

"I believe we are all thoroughly confused now, my friend. Just exactly what are you saying? If it was not the animal who 'calls' himself your, ahem, Father... then who exactly... or 'what' did we see?" Aoshi moved forward and locked his highly intelligent gaze with the golden lanterns glowering in his friends face, and the emotions he saw there sent warning alarms off in his bodies defense systems. _This is very, very bad._

"Do you all remember the 'ghost story' surrounding the lighthouse?" Kenshin held Aoshi's gaze. "Do you remember all the talk about the Man who supposedly killed his Mistress 300 years ago by pushing her off the Lamproom catwalk?" He listened as everyone (except Soujiro) mumbled in assent. "Good... I'm glad you remember, now I suggest you all hang on to your asses because it's true."

"WHAT??" Soujiro, Ruakii, and Sano all chorused together as they exchanged disbelieving looks. "Have YOU lost your fucking mind, Himura?" Ruakii stepped forward staring at Kenshin as if he had just grown a third head, and without breaking his gaze with Aoshi, Kenshin replied in a very cryptic tone.

"Does the name, Daniel March, mean anything to you, Ruakii?"

The sound of constant dripping could be heard, and though it was far away, the monotony of it caused it to become louder and louder and louder as time inched by inside of the cold, damp, darkness. Darkness so heavy and foul with the passing of the ages that nothing could be discerned within its depths, not even a hand before one's face. The only sounds that managed to penetrate the thickness of the black were the rasping of mud beetles as they found their way through cracks in the mortar and age-old bricks to go scurrying across the damp muddy floor, the forlorn moaning of the tower as it eased and settled with the incessant pounding of the westerly winds, and the howling of those same winds as they screamed through the tower's funnel like the lost and dying souls of the long dead and forever suffering.

"Where are We?" _It smells bad... musty... moldy... old._

"I... I'm not sure, but I think we are somewhere inside or beneath the old lighthouse."

"The lighthouse? You mean The Somberman out on Hackler's Point?"

"Uh-huh."

"H-how did we get out here? That is like way over the bluff and I don't remember how we got here."

"Me neither... exactly, but I think I know _WHY _we're here." _God, I hope I'm wrong._

"Serious? Why? And wasn't that Himura's creep-Father that grabbed us? What was up with that?" _My Dad is so gonna kill that creep when he finds out about this!_

"It goes back to the night we all came out here the first time a couple of weeks ago. Do you remember? When everybody 'paired-up'? The night we all went in the lighthouse..."

"Yeah, I remember. Ruakki was his usually idiot self trying to scare everybody with that 'Daniel March' crap, but nobody else heard anything... except..." Quii paused in the darkness for a long moment and then began again. "What happened to you and Himura that night, Kaoru? Nobody ever really knew anything except that you got sick or something and passed out and Himura had to carry you home... Did you really get sick?"

"No, I... I didn't get sick, Quii... Something really bad happened to us, something we never told anybody else about." _Kenshin? I can't feel you anymore... where are you? _

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, we didn't think anybody would believe us, and for two... we just didn't want to talk about it... Misao knows." _We didn't trust anybody else._

"Misao?? How does Misao know?" _Trust the Weasel to know._

"I guess Kenshin told her after she helped him get me in my dorm room."

"Did she believe him?" _Of course she did, stupid. She's Himura's new best friend._

"Don't know... we never talked about it... See, I don't remember everything that happened, most of it, but not everything, and Kenshin didn't tell me what happened at the last that made me pass out." _Shudder... don't wanna know... don't wanna know... Kenshin??_

"He didn't? Why not?"

"I... I don't know, but I guess he thought it was bad enough that he was afraid it would freak me out or something so he chose not to tell me." _He was afraid... I could see it on his face when I woke up. He was afraid... I knew it was bad after that._

"Don't you want to know... I mean, doesn't it bug you not knowing what happened?"

"No... I don't want to know. What I saw and heard that night before the end... that was way more than enough, I don't need to know any more." _He was afraid. I didn't need to know more than that._

"Just exactly _WHAT _did you guys see up here that night that was so bad you never wanted to talk about it? Was it really _THAT_ bad?" _I'm not sure I like the sound of this... It's starting to give me goosebumps and that means it's bad._

"Yes, it was _THAT_ bad, Quii... How much do you know about the old ghost story that surrounds this place?"

"You mean the one about the Lighthouse Operator that murdered his girlfriend or mistress or whatever she was a long time ago and this place being haunted by the two of them? Do you mean **_that_** 'ghost story'?"

"Is there another one?" Kaoru sounded irritated. _Geez..._

"Well, no..."

"Then I suppose that is the one I mean, don't you think."

"Oh, well... right." Quii was embarrassed and she was glad Kaoru couldn't see her face because she was sure it was beet red. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"Fine," The older girl sighed in frustration, but continued. "Did you ever stop to consider that it might be true?"

"True? Are you kidding me?" _Shit!_

"Nooo, I am not kidding you." _Do I sound like I'm kidding?_

"Then what are you talking about?"

"Kenshin and I saw both of those ghosts that night... we saw them in the Lighthouse Tower, and not only did we see them, but we actually witnessed the occurrence of the murder itself."

"Bullshit!" Quii sounded incredulous. **_No way!! No freaking way!_**

"I'm serious, Quii. We really did. We watched Daniel March chase his Wife, Cassandra up the Tower stairs after he'd beaten the shit out of her, and then we followed them..."

"**_YOU WHAT_**??"

"Yeah, I know..." Kaoru shuddered in the dark as she remembered. "It was Kenshin's idea he wanted to see what would happen."

"What happened?"

"We watched that dirty rotten bastard pick her up and throw her over the catwalk railing and send her crashing into the rocks at the bottom of the cliff." Kaoru's voice trailed off into silence for a few seconds and then Quii heard her whisper in a sad tone. "We could hear her scream all the way down." _It was like listening to doves die. I've never heard anything sound like that... Kenshin??_

"You're kidding?" Quii's voice had dropped to a whisper as well as the full impact of the horror started to sink in. "He really and truly just threw her over... deliberately?" _Oh God... oh..._

"Yes... deliberately, and then he watched her fall all the way down." _He just stood there... and watched... just watched... _

"Oh my God... how horrible... that poor girl. How awful."

"That isn't the worst, Quii..."

"Are you saying there's more?" She sounded shocked as well as worried.

"Yes," Kaoru pushed herself up against the cold stone wall and closed her eyes as she remembered. "We followed him down the stairs, and then tried to leave, but... he wouldn't let us."

"He wouldn't let you? What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"He... talked to us."

"Talked... to you? You mean... to you?"

"Uh-huh. To us... like he was a real person. It was so scary and so creepy. He kept calling Kenshin 'Fetlock' and then kept saying he wasn't going to let him get his Wife again."

"What did that mean?"

"I... I look... I look just like her." _We could be... twins... like a mirror, or a pond... I was her and she was me... I was scared... KENSHIN??_

"Are you telling me he thinks you're..." _His Wife??_

"The ghost of Daniel March thinks I'm his wife reincarnated... he thinks I'm Cassandra, and he thinks Kenshin is someone named 'Fetlock' who I can only surmise must have been her lover..."

"OH MY GOD, KAORU!!" Quii cut Kaoru off as she cried out in exclamation and horror. "Oh my God, don't you see it? Don't you get it? Holy shit!!"

"What? What are you talking about? No, I don't get it... What?" Kaoru was totally confused by the other girls outburst and just a little bit perturbed by it as well. "What do you think you've discovered, Quii? Spit it out!" She demanded angrily.

"It's all right in front of you, dummy. The whole damn thing."

"What is? What 'damn' thing?"

"The story, the reason, everything." _Open your eyes!!_

"Well, I can't see it... tell me, dammit! What?"

"Do you believe in 'Reincarnation', Kaoru?"

"I... I don't know. I never thought about it before." _This... this is bad.._

"Well, think about this. Daniel March is married to a beautiful woman who hates him because he is abusive... maybe he's even an alcoholic, just like Himura's Father. Follow me?"

"I guess... go on." _I just knew it... this is bad..._

"She meets someone else and they fall in love and run away together to get away from him. Now 300 years ago during the Puritan times, there was no such thing as Divorce, if you cheated on your husband they put you in prison for the rest of your life. It didn't matter if he was an abusive asshole or not... of course, there were ways to get revenge."

"What do you mean?"

"A Wife could always embarrass her husband in public by announcing he was... er... unsatisfactory."

"That's low..." Kaoru's voice took on a note of vengeance as well as pity as she considered Quii's words. "But it would be fitting if he abused her as badly as Daniel abused Cassandra. You should have seen her face and all of the bruises and cuts he left on her. He was an animal... just like Hiko." _You would have deserved whatever you got from her, Daniel. Deserved it... _

"Well, would it not become his greatest obsession to get her back, and get his revenge on her and the man she loved more than him?" _What a motive... just like in the movies._

"Oh my gosh! He wasn't the man they found in the lamp room... It was 'FETLOCK' Daniel killed them both!" **_I knew it was bad!_**

"Now your getting it. Remember, the story goes that the lighthouse operator killed his mistress..."

"That's right, and Cassandra was Daniel's Wife... Oh God. That's why he hated Kenshin so bad, that's why he kept calling him 'Fetlock' and saying he would never have Cassandra again... 'Fetlock' was her 'lover' and he looked just like Kenshin.... oh shit!" **_KENSHIN?? WHERE ARE YOU??_**

"Did Daniel look like Kenshin's step-father, Kaoru? Think hard... did he?" _I bet... _

"I... I don't know... he was so young when he died. He was only maybe 25 or 26 years old, and Hiko is over 40, but... the black hair, green eyes... maybe, maybe when Hiko was younger... if he were thinner... if his hair were longer... if... if..." Realization hit her like a 5,000 lb. ball-ping hammer and Kaoru knew the answer. It was Hiko. He was Daniel, just as she was Cassandra and Kenshin was Fetlock. Somehow, someway, the three of them had spiraled through time and finally wound up in the same century together, and in the same place, and in the same time, and history was trying to repeat itself.

"He's laying a trap for us..." She murmured through the thickness of the black that suddenly seemed to be surrounding only her. "He's using me as bait, and he's laying a trap for Kenshin."

"A trap? Why? Why would he want to bring Himura here? Why not keep you for himself? Isn't that what he wants? I don't understand. Kaoru?"

"No, he doesn't want me, Quii... He wants 'Her'. He wants Her soul to set him free so he can move on into the next world and the only way he can do that is if she forgives him... If she... if she loves him." _Kenshin... find me. Find me before he finds you... Oh God, Kenshin... he wants to kill you... again._

"But how does bringing Himura here have anything to do with that?"

"He wants to prove once and for all who the best man is."

"I still don't get it."

"A duel, Quii. Daniel wants to have a duel with 'Fetlock' so he can prove to Cassandra that he is the better man, that he is worthy of her love, that he is worthy of her forgiveness, and that she should come back to him despite everything that has happened between them."

"He's insane. He wants to kill 'Fetlock' all over again."

"Yes, but this time, he wants to do it in a fair fight."_ Nooooo, I can't let this happen again... Kenshin... I love you... _

"Totally insane."

"Quite." _Kenshin... where are you?_

Please Review… thanks

**Rain anst: **so sorry you got missed from my last chapter reviews… I had already sent the chapter off to my beta reader by the time your review came through. Please forgive. And thank you for reading and reviewing chapter 15. Hope you liked chapter 16 too… and I hope your still reading.

**Kagura: **Thanks for ALL of your reviews. You are the best! I'm glad that I have not appeared cliché…I hate that. I don't want to be mediocre either. I try hard not to be either. I like Ruakii. He is sort of patterned after an old school mate of mine from high school many, many years ago. Tough/and not so tough. Cool guy.

**Lere; **lere, my dearest love…you are my rock, my touchstone, and my warm place to go whenever I feel like I need a big hug. Brazilians give the best hugs in the whole world. Thanks for the uplifting words… glad you like the Limey :"}. wink

**Ayah: **Safe sex, dearling… safe sex. :"} And I love Soujiro too… he has always been one of my fav. Characters, he was just so innocent and sweet… even when he was bad he was sweet. Glad you liked the Lemon/Lime… can't always be totally fluffy… but Kenshin loves his tanuki, ne?

**Paisita; **smiles makes me happy to make you happy.

**Lendra-chan: **The element of surprise is half the fun of writing… doing the unexpected is where I have most of my fun. And you are most welcome for the reviews and small bits of advice on your story. It is going well for your first try. Keep up the practice and you will only get better. There will always be a spot for you on my website as long as you don't give up. Go get 'em Alendra!!

**HaPPy BuNNy: **I'm SeeING THingS AgaIN. LOL. The party wasn't that loud, sweetie… and they were already on their way out… and, I'm glad I gave you the 'creepies' I was trying too. Hope to see you around next time. :"}

**MZ.AMbER EYES: **Greetings, Mz. Amber. You sounded exceptionally upset… should I be sorry or should I just laugh wickedly and do my happy dance? XD Love ya girly.

**Catti-dono: **What a wonderful and pleasant surprise to see you here in this stories reviews…And how wonderful for me that YOU like it. WHEW! It is always a relief to an author when a fan who is used to reading one of her styles 'stumbles' onto something else she wrote in a totally different style… and loves it too. God Bless you, my friend. I love your reviews, and you too. Thanks you for all you say. And Thank you for 'Do You Want to Live Forever.' I still credit you with the whole idea. wink

**InuLimbo; **What just happened?? Weeeeelllll… Daniel/Hiko just kidnapped the girls and flew through the air back to the Lighthouse… (Hiko is possessed… at the moment, and it being Halloween, many things are possible-- hence Daniel being able to make him fly). Hope you like this chapter.

**The Lone Lemon: **Ahh, my dear friend… 'The Eternal Flame'? Great song… works for me. J Glad you liked the Lemon. Keep coming back. I love hearing from you.

**Unknown beedee: **Where is your update, young lady??? :"} I know, school sucks! LOL. So glad your still hanging around… why did they get taken away…. Cuz.

**Shadow: **I hope this chapter was soon enough too. J You know what they say… 'The Shadow knows…' wink Thanks for reading. Love to see you in my reviews.

**BelleDayNight: **So much has happened since you wrote this review, I'm not sure what to say… THANKS! You are now a good friend, and someone that I trust. I have also become one of YOUR fans, and I hope that we can keep our current relationship going for a long time. You are a treat to me… you make me smile, and you are just a joy to talk to on the computer. Thanks, me Belle. You're the Greatest.

**Kaoru-890: **Arigato, Miss Kaoru. Your welcome, your welcome, your, welcome. I'm glad to you love the story. Keep reading. I love that. J

**Mishourou Mie: **Great!!!

**De Lazy Lime: **Oh Ho! Miss Limey!! I was afraid I was going to miss you… or you had missed me. I am so glad to see you here again. You really should try to get more sleep. LOL. I am glad you Loved my Lemon/Lime considering how 'addicted/hooked' on the stuff you are. wink. Take care, Kiddo. GET SOME SLEEP!

**Xia xue: **Virgin eyes??? Ahem… winks I warned 'you' at the beginning of the chappie, Miss Xia… LOL. Just because you said in your last review you weren't sure you could read the lemon or not… LOL. 'Drama Queen', eh? I'll have to remember that… I did try to keep it toned way down you know, little queen. wink. Love you, girly. Take care.

**Kenji25: **Your E-mail address doesn't work. I tried to write you 3 different times and it just kept coming back to me. Anyway, this is what I was trying to say. I have every intention of finishing this story, it's my favorite out of all the ones I've written. I am humbled that you think I am so talented, it is always a boost to my confidence to hear that. As for your 'friend'. It bothered me that his/her life reflected parts of my story. There aren't many things in it that are very fun or very healthy for a kid, so do me a favor please… when you see your friend, give him/her a big hug for me and tell them that there are people in the world who won't abuse them. And that any kind of abuse is not their fault. It hurts my heart to hear about stuff like that.

**Forbidden: **Thank you. It's cool to be Awesome. J

**liz: **Thanks for reading. I am flattered that you liked it so much. I really appreciate the review. I hope you liked the new chappie too.

**Midi Tenshi:** WoW! A new Face!! that is sooo cool! Yes... it was an evil cliffy... I am really bad about doing that. I just can't seem to help myself. But I hope you enjoyed the plot anyway. winks. Hope to hear from you again.

**JD Fielding: **Ever my dearest friend and loyal reader. Your review didn't make it through... but I know you well enough that you wrote one. So, I say thank you irregardless to the screw-ups of FF.net and their neverending posting problems. God Bless my friend... BTW, I loved the last chappie of 'After The Fall'... hope my review made it on your list. Take care, dear one.


	17. The Wings of Sparrows

A/N: There is a story that I remember from when I was a little girl, I don't really remember how it goes per say, but I recall that the gist of it surrounded the fact that sparrows, though being a rather small bird, are really quite strong and resilient. They are also known to fly great distances to nest in the same place year after year, and have great endurance as well. The story as I recall had a band of young sparrows saving their flock from a pack of evil cats... they were very brave and very ingenious despite their being so young and so small. It was one of my favorite stories as a child... it is too bad I can't remember it better. But it did go to show that even something as small as a sparrow can prove to be greater than the sum of itself if put to the test of its courage and its own limits.

A/N: Haruko has been so swamped and overloaded by things going on at home lately that I just didn't feel like I could be one to add to her burdens by sending her something else to do. So I have decided to try and post on my own... again. My Saiai-Haruko is more than just my beta reader, she is my dear friend and I always try to take care of those I love. So... Saiai, don't be worrying yourself over this, and don't be feeling guilty (because I know you will). I just want you to be Ok... I want you to take the time you need to deal with whatever it going on... and take care of yourself. I am always here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on or an hear to listen. I love you and respect you more than I could ever put into words. You and I will catch up to each other in this place again soon. Just let me know if I can help... You are more than a beta reader to me... you should know that by now. Tsuki-san

Comments to reviews at end of chapter. Thank you to everyone who drops me a few kind or helpful words. God Bless. KnT

Chapter Seventeen

The Wings of Sparrows

November 1, 2001

Early Sunday Morning

5:22 a.m. I've Paine Campus

After much discussion, the guys had decided to wait until it was nearly daylight before they set out on the pathway for Evermore beach and ultimately Hackler's Point. It would take them a good hour to get there and by the time they arrived the sky should just be starting to turn to pink and yellow with the rising dawn thus setting the old lighthouse up for a full sunlight exposure before they ever went inside to look for the girls. This, they hoped, would give them a much needed advantage where as in the dark they would be much more vulnerable.

Kenshin's plan was simple. Enter the lighthouse after the sun came up in hopes that the Daniel/Hiko 'thing' would be exhausted from the nights events and be sleeping somewhere in one of the old rooms. That in turn would give them ample opportunity to search around the funnel and attached housing quarters for the girls. It was the general belief by the whole group that 'ghosts' didn't come out during the day, and if Hiko did, the five of them would deal with him... one way or another. Kenshin was through playing games. This last escapade of events had taught him something very harsh and very valuable.

Blood was thicker than water... but Love would always rise to the top and out weigh everything else. He loved Kaoru. There was no denying it... no pushing it aside... and no trying to diminish it. His heart cried out for her even as his soul screamed in pain over the loss of her psychic 'touch' beside it, and come Hell or High-water he was going to get her back. No matter what he had to do... he was going to get her back. Holding her in his arms had been like touching the face of heaven, and he was damned if he was going to lose that... again.

As they prepared to leave, the decision was made that they should leave some sort of message behind explaining where they were going and why. They had never bothered to do this before, but Kenshin felt that someone should know what was going on besides the five of them just in case something went wrong and they didn't make it back. He decided the best person to leave the message for was Ruakii's father, Saitou._ 'Master Saitou will know what to do if we don't come back.' _He said in a bland emotionless voice as he finished writing the detailed note and signed his name to it.

"He's going to think we are friggin' nuts, Himura." Ruakii had said as he placed the note on his parents kitchen table and shot the redhead a complicated look of wry morbidity. "My old man is going to have a fit when he reads this, and then he is going to come screaming after us with his hair on fire... you know that, don't you?"

"Yes, I know that. But it can't be helped. Besides... Maybe he'll bring the cops and half the town just to find out what the hell is going on."

"Oh, that would be just great." Ruakii rolled his dark brown eyes in mock horror. "I can just see it all now... Master Saitou to the rescue with his brigade of pitchfork wielding farmers and keystone-cops. Just great..." Kenshin's gaze turned hot as he glared at the other boy angrily.

"Hey, listen you rat-faced nimrod," He hissed into Ruakii's stubborn face. "I'm damn sick and tired of being blamed for shit I didn't do and for being seen as a punk who doesn't have the honor or brains God gave a piss-ant... you understand?"

"Dad doesn't think that anymore and you know it, but this thing we're planning on doing... it sounds crazy, even to me." Scratching the back of his head, Ruakii cast a nervous glance toward the stairs that led up to the second floor where his parents were sleeping. "I mean, all this stuff about 'ghosts' and reincarnated people... I don't know if Dad is going to buy all that crap or not."

"I don't really care if he does or not, Ruakii. The fact is, that fucking animal took my girl, and he's using Hiko to help him pull it off although I'm not sure why yet or how for that matter. But I'm sure he's taken Kaoru because he thinks she's his wife reincarnated... and maybe she is for that matter." Kenshin's voice turned pensive and the catch in it betrayed just how deeply effected he really was by Kaoru's absence. "I... I just don't know what I believe anymore, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let him have her... in any sense of that word."

"I understand that," Ruakii had been wide eyed and lax jawed the night before while listening to Kenshin's retelling of the night he and Kaoru had been in the lighthouse, but he had been unable to dispute the truth of it when Kenshin was looking the way he was all yellow-eyed and scary. "But why did he take Quii? She wasn't part of the 'love-triangle' thing so what does she have to do with any of this? "

"Nothing." Kenshin shook his head and glared down at the fists his hands had formed themselves into. "She's got nothing to do with it, Ruakii. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Daniel is whacked out enough he would have saw some sort of twisted opportunity in taking her with him. Maybe he thinks he can make Cassandra's spirit jealous... how the hell should I know? He's a fucking ghost for petesake, and he's insane besides." He chopped his arm through the air emphasizing his anger and frustration as he started toward the door, but as he placed his hand on the knob, he stopped speaking over his shoulder in a low and menacing voice. "All I do know is this, we are going up there to find the girls and bring them back before he actually finds the guts to try and do something to them because it's only a matter of time before he gets bored enough to want to try."

"You know, Himura..." Ruakii's voice shifted as a thought occurred to him. "It's almost like he wants someone to come out there and try to get them. You don't think he's trying to use them as bait... like he's setting a trap for somebody or something, do you?"

"Of course he is, you bloody idiot!" Kenshin's eyes flashed molten gold as he turned and looked angrily into Ruakii's face. "He's setting the trap for ME. He wants me to come out there because he thinks I'm some guy called 'Fetlock'." An exasperated sigh of pure frustration escaped the redhead's throat. "Don't you ever listen to anything?"

"Fetlock? Who the hell is 'Fetlock', and what the hell does he have to do with you?" '_You don't listen to anything... Shit! No wonder your grades suck in school... God...'_

"I think Fetlock was Cassandra's lover, and I think Daniel was responsible for his death all those years ago too... I think he murdered them both." Kenshin paused for a moment to think and then continued. "He just kept saying the same things over and over again that night... he wasn't going to let me 'have her again'... he wasn't going to 'lose her to me again.' I think he killed Fetlock out of jealousy because his wife left him for the guy." The hand on the doorknob turned and the door opened soundlessly.

"You think he wants to try and kill you 'again' then?" The boys walked out of the back door of the house and joined the other three who were standing patiently waiting in the cold morning air. "Is that why he's trying to get you out there?"

"I don't know, to tell you the truth." Kenshin looked down at the toes of his black high-tops and considered his next words carefully. "You see, Cassandra hates him... I mean, really and truly hates him for everything he did to her. But if he killed Fetlock... she would never forgive him for that, and that was something else he kept saying over and over."

"What's that?"

"That he needed her to forgive him before he could move on."

"Huh? I don't get it."

"He's stuck here, Ruakii... in whatever plane of existence or consciousness his spirit is living in at the lighthouse. He's stuck there. He can't move on because Cassandra's hatred and anger are keeping him here... just as they are keeping her here as well."

"So, you're saying that the two of them are bound to haunt the lighthouse forever unless she can forgive him for being the abusive murdering bastard that he was... is?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying."

"Ah shit. That is just way too out there for me, man. Way, way too out there." He was scratching the back of his head again. "So... if he wants her to forgive him for everything, how is killing you 'again' going to help that?"

"I don't know... I don't know what he thinks he's after. I told you he's completely insane."

"If I may interject, my friends." Aoshi's cool tenor voice floated between Kenshin and Ruakii effectively drawing their attention away from each other. "I think I may have an alternative answer for you... if you care to listen."

"Oh please," Ruakii's sarcasm lifted it's ugly head and sneered at the much more composed Aoshi. "What _does _the Doli Lama have to say? I can hardly wait to hear this."

"Shut-up your shit, Saitou." Kenshin growled as he shot Ruakii a warning look that quelled the other boy into silence. "What have you got, Aoshi?"

"Well, it would seem to me after listening to everything you said last night, and the small portion of this conversation that we are dealing with an exceptionally intelligent if not insane mind. Would you agree?"

"Yes." The group found their way to the path and began picking their way through the underbrush and the over hanging branches.

"You say he recognized Kaoru as 'Cassandra' right away, and starting calling you 'Fetlock' almost immediately? Yes?"

"Yes."

"And his main interest is in reacquiring his wife's love or at least her respect and thus her forgiveness for his sinful past as well as his treacherous betrayal. Is this also right?"

"Yes, you seem to have the grasp of it, but what are you getting at?"

"Each of the most important dead players have been accounted for among the living... you said even the ghost of Cassandra referred to you as 'Edmund' the first time you saw her while you and Kaoru stood on the staircase. That in itself would be a fairly good indication that you must look like this man."

"Ok, I'll go along with that... what else?"

"You described this Daniel March as being tall, with a slender but muscular build, and having black hair and brilliant green eyes."

"Right."

"How old was he do you think?"

"I don't know... about 25 maybe. Why?"

"How old is your step-father?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Humor me... how old?"

"About 45 I guess... give or take."

"Hmmmm... about a 20 year difference. Interesting."

"Aoshi. What the hell are you getting at?"

"Have you ever seen any photographs of your step-father from when he was younger?"

"I... um... now that you mention it, no, I don't think so, why?"

"Imagine him about 20 years younger, thirty pounds lighter, and with much longer hair... what do you see?" Several moments passed by in silence and then there was a horrified gasp.

"Oh my God... oh no, it can't be. Hiko... and Daniel?"

"It would explain why he took an almost instant dislike to you even when you were a child, Himura. Old hatreds run deep and know no age or time... they last forever."

"We... we never got along. I mean, I could never do anything right... he was always on my case, and I could never back down from him... I.. I just..."

"Couldn't?"

"Yes." Kenshin's voice was small and low as the implications of Aoshi's deductions sank into his stunned brain. "I always hated him. It just got worse the older I got."

"Understandable." Aoshi nodded and met his friends worried gaze. "His penchant for drinking and violence is also well explainable now being that Daniel was the same sort."

"It would stand to reason, I suppose, but why in the hell did it have to be MY step-father?"

"It would not have mattered WHO he was to you, Himura. Don't you see? It was inevitable that at some point in time the three of you were bound to end up sharing the same life existence again... and in this same place." As Aoshi finished his explanation, the five young men broke out of the dense foliage and onto the white sands of the beach. "Fate would have brought you all here eventually to finish out what was started 300 years ago."

"But, Aosh... It was finished. He killed us." Kenshin's voice was flat as he delivered what he felt was the final verdict of the conversation, but Aoshi wasn't finished.

"Perhaps... but if it was truly finished and over, then why is Daniel's ghost stuck here, and why have the three of you been pulled back to this place?" Kenshin didn't have an answer to that question. Indeed, he did not even have an idea as to what the answer could be, and that bothered him.

Sunday Morning

Saitou's Kitchen

6:42 a.m.

The sun was just starting to peak through the horizontal blinds as Saitou wandered down the stairs and into the kitchen. It was going to be a cold morning he could feel it in his bones already, and he began muttering uncomfortably to himself about old age and arthritis as he began going through the motions of making some coffee.

He was just filling the coffee maker with water when he heard the thunder of running feet over his head along the upstairs hallway. The disturbance went from one end of the narrow walkway to the other, and he frowned as he imagined the perpetrators of the offending noise.

"Damn kids..." He muttered in exasperation. "Can't they ever WALK anywhere." Flipping the 'ON' switch, he turned and headed toward the stairs intent upon _telling_ Ruakii and Quii to stop all their jumping and running around before they woke up their mother, and their guests, but just as he was about to mount the staircase, he was met with the alarmed visage of his wife as she ran down. "What's the matter, Tokio?" Something in the look on her face caused his chest to tighten up and Saitou reached out to catch her as she reached the bottom. "What's wrong?"

"The kids..." Her voice was filled with panic and fear as her wild eyes locked with his concerned ones. "It's the kids, Hajime... they aren't here."

"What do you mean they aren't here... where are they?"

"I... I don't know, but neither of their beds was slept in last night." Her hands grabbed the front of his velveteen robe in frantic trembling grips. "Neither one of their costumes are in their rooms... they never came home from the dance last night..." A cold chill of dread ran down Saitou's spine as he looked into his wife's frantic face. It wasn't like either of their children to stay out all night. Even Ruakii and his Devil-may-care attitude had never stayed out past his given curfew... at least not to their knowledge. They had always found him in his bed each and every morning just as he was supposed to be, but today... _'Where are my children?'_

6:45 a.m.

Girl's dormitory

Misao's Room

"They went _WHERE_??" Megumi's outrage and fear resonated off the walls of Misao's room as she listened to her friends explanation of where their boyfriends had gone and what they were preparing to do. "Are they insane?" She stood up off the bed and stomped across the room only to whirl around again and glare at the two other girls whom were setting quietly watching her tirade. "What do they think they are going to prove? Nothing, that's what... they'll just end up getting themselves killed... or worse."

"What's worse than getting themselves killed, Megumi?" Tomoe looked at the raving girl with dispassionate eyes as she sat playing with the material of her pajama's. "I would really like to know what you consider worse than death? Demon possession maybe? Or perhaps being maimed for life? What?"

"Shut-up Tomoe..." Megumi hissed malevolently at the stone faced girl. "You have no idea what's at stake here... You don't know what their getting themselves into..."

"Oh, and YOU do?" Tomoe shot up off the bed and shoved her face up into Megumi's glaring visage. "Maybe it's YOU who doesn't have a clue what's going on. Maybe it's a lot more important to them that they go out there and try to bring Kaoru and Quii back than it is for them to worry about _**YOU** _and all of your spoiled-brat problems... did you ever wonder about that?" It was rare for Tomoe to voice her opinions much less her anger, and this outburst was no different. It brought a look of surprise to Misao's pale worried face, but before she could interject a single word Tomoe was railing at Megumi again. "Do you think you have the corner on the _'worried girlfriend' _market? Well, you don't. I'm worried about Ruakii too, but I know what he's doing is the right thing... they are ALL doing the right thing, and I'm worried about _all_ of them."

"You think I'm not worried about _them?_ I'm worried as hell about Sanosuke... I don't want anything to happen to him... I... I love him." Suddenly it seemed that all of the steam went out of Megumi's anger and she slowly backed away from Tomoe looking briefly at Misao. "I... I just don't think this is his fight... that's all. He's not involved in this... neither is Aoshi... I don't understand why the two of them had to go, that's what has got me so upset." Her voice cracked and she moved away to look out the window at the rising sun. "They didn't have to go. They didn't have to put themselves in danger... why did they? Why did they do it? Why?"

"Because, Megumi." Misao stood up and walked over to her distraught friend and put an arm around her drooping shoulders. "Because they are all friends... and because friends help each other... and because Kenshin and Ruakii needed them to go... they needed everybody they could get."

"I know... but what if... what if they don't come back?"

"Don't think that way you stupid ninny. Of course they are going to come back." Misao's fierce blue-green eyes stared out the window as she thought of her tall silently strong Aoshi. "He knows I'll kill him if he doesn't come back."

"Oh Misao... sometimes you say the stupidest things..."

"Maybe so, but that is the only way I am going to think about this... so, you, me, and Tomoe are going to have to stick together on this one. We gotta be there for each other. That is the only way we are going to get through this." _'That and pray a lot... Aoshi, you better come back... do you hear me? You better come back.'_

7:12 a.m.

Hackler's Point

It was strange looking at the lighthouse during the daytime. With the sun shining on it, it looked no more than the derelict old building that it was and nothing more. It was easy to see that most of the tiles had been blown off the roof of the living quarters, and all of the window pains were broken leaving gapping holes for the wind to invade and escape through. The once whitewashed stones had long since faded to a dismal grayish tone which only added to the lonely forlorn effect of the scene. The doors had long since rotted off their hinges and either lay on the ground or leaned at odd angles inside the doorframes.

This was no longer a place of fear and ghostly haunting's. It was a place of sadness... a place of loneliness... a place of emptiness. It was like the ending of a sad story that had finished very badly. It went unused... it was neglected... _it was forgotten_.

Traversing the rickety and dangerous wooden bridge in the daytime was a simple matter, in fact, it was an eye opening experience to the four young men who had already been across it in the dark. Each found himself wondering in his own mind how they had made it across without falling through to their deaths because it was filled with so many rotted and splintered out boards as well as places where there were no boards. It was a sobering experience, and not one any of them was likely to forget very soon.

No one said a word as they reached the other side, but the looks that were exchanged said more than enough. There would be no more late night treks across _that _particular bridge again... not in their lifetimes... not without a good flashlight anyway. Boy, were they stupid or what?

They were _stupid_.

"All right, we're here, now what?" Sano looked up at the derelict tower with narrow eyes as he squinted against the newly arriving morning sunlight. "Are we just gonna go straight in and start looking, or are we gonna scout around for your crazy old man first?"

"We really should find Dad first, Kenshin." Soujiro met his older brother's questioning gaze as he measured the number of rooms in the living quarters against how much time it would take to search them all plus the rooms beneath the funnel. "We ought to know where he is before we go poking our noses around in there too much."

"I suppose you're right, it would be better to know where he is first off wouldn't it?"

"I would tend to agree with that, Himura." Aoshi strode gracefully up next to Kenshin and they both stood eyeing the two-story living quarters. "Do you think it is safe to assume that he is in there or would he have taken himself off to some other part of the building?"

"No, I think he's probably right in there inside one of the rooms... it's just a matter of finding which one and making sure he stays in it."

"And how do you propose we 'make sure' he stays put, Himura? You gonna bitch-slap him or what?" Ruakii never would change it seemed and even with a dark look of disapproval from Kenshin he didn't seem to know when to quit.

"I'll do whatever I have to, Saitou, and if that means cold-cocking the old man, then I guess I'll have to give it my best shot. You got a problem with that?"

"Nah, not really. Just wondered what other surprises you had wadded up your sleeve, that's all. I mean, what with you leaving that note for Dad and everything... God knows what you're gonna come up with next."

"Why don't you just stow it, Rat-boy, and let Kenshin think." Sano's larger frame loomed threateningly over Ruakii's shorter one blocking out the sun for a moment as he stepped in between the two boys before sparks really started to fly. "You're really starting to become a problem at the moment so unless you got any better ideas on the situation at hand... shut the hell up already so we can figure out what to do... or else I'm gonna help you shut-up."

"Oh yeah, rooster-head." Ruakii snarled and shoved his nose up into Sano's face. "You think you can take me on... then let's go right here, right now... come on. Let's do it, man... Let's go..." But Ruakii's bravado was short lived when a powerful side kick caught him directly in the hip sending him sailing through the air about ten feet where he came to rest in the rocky sand with a loud 'OOF'. "HEY!" He shouted angrily. "What the hell was that for? He was the one spitting on my shoes."

"Not hardly, Ruakii." Aoshi stepped up to the fallen teen and extended his hand to help him up. "You've been trying to start something with someone all morning for some reason, though why you would want to considering what we're up against at the moment completely evades me."

"I have not." The exclamation was emphasized by Ruakii angrily dusting the moist dirt and snow off his damp jeans. "I just don't like being told what to do all the time... and like I said before, I think this is a stupid idea... there is no way it is going to work."

"I did not hear you coming up with anything better when we were discussing strategies last night."

"That is not the point..."

"Of course it is." Aoshi snorted in disgust at the other teen as he turned his back on him. "You are very good at judging but very poor at contributing... now come back here and make yourself useful before I lose my temper and hit you again."

"YOU... you're the one who hit me? I thought it was Himura?"

"That is why you aren't the brains of this operation, Saitou." Sanosuke growled in angry frustration at the wide eyed and obviously confused youth. "You don't pay attention, you don't listen, and you never have anything to say that's worth hearing."

"Fuck you, Segara."

"Get a grip, all of you." Kenshin's voice was low and furious as he positioned himself in the middle of the small group. "This is not doing us any good... in fact, its hurting our cause tremendously. This isn't about whose smarter or better or whatever else you got on your minds. This is about the girls, now pull your heads out of your asses and lets get back on track with what we are here for. Got me?"

There was a collective mumble of assent as each of the other players embarrassedly agreed with him and forced their attention back to the task at hand. One of them had to go inside and locate Hiko, and then make sure he was as well confined as possible.

That was Kenshin's task. While he was doing that, the others were to wait until he returned. If he didn't, two of them were to go after help while the others were to go inside and try to find the girls. If he didn't rejoin up with them, no one was to go looking for him under any circumstances... no one. He was to be left behind until help arrived.

"I don't like it." Sano shook his head emphatically.

"It's not for you to like, Sano. It's just the way it has to be."

"Bullshit! You don't have to go in there alone."

"Yes I do. There is no reason to waste two of us tracking down Hiko... and I'm really the only one of us who can take him on anyway so it stands to reason it should be me." Narrow amber eyes met and held the gazes of each member of the group until they had all nodded in reluctant agreement. "If I find him asleep, I'll just punch him one solid and make sure he stays asleep for a while longer..."

"And if he wakes up? What then?" Aoshi's bright green eyes searched his friends face with concern. "How will you handle him at that point especially if he is still possessed by our friend 'Daniel'?"

"I don't know, but I'll find a way and I'll deal with it... you guys don't worry about me... you worry about finding the girls and getting them out of here, and no matter what happens, you do not come back for me... understand? You do not come back for me."

"Kenshin..." Soujiro's gray-blue eyes filled with hurt and worry as he reached out and grasped his brothers shoulder. "I can't let you..."

"Yes you can." Kenshin pulled the younger man into a tight embrace and held him close for a long moment. "I love you, Sou... I love you more than you can ever know, and I'm trusting you to find my Kao and get her out of this hell hole... do you hear me? I'm trusting you to do that for me."

"I hear you..." Soujiro's voice was muffled against Kenshin's shoulder as he hung on tightly burying his face against his brothers heavy black jacket. "But I'll never forgive you if you don't come back. You hear me?"

"I hear you... I hear..."

"Then you better fucking not get cornered or hurt, got it?"

"Got it..." Kenshin pulled back and the brothers exchanged a poignant look before letting go of each other. "Aoshi?"

"Yes?"

"Your in charge now. Give me fifteen minutes. If I'm not back, send Sano and Ruakii back to the school and you and Soujiro go inside to look for Kao and Quii... Got me?"

"Yes, Himura... I got you... fifteen minutes."

"Thanks."

"Not a problem." And then Kenshin was turning and walking away from his friends and his brother. His young shoulders were thrown back and his brilliant red hair was blowing in the cold breeze that was coming up off the waves that crashed into the rocks far below. His stride was steady and unfaltering and when he reached the door to enter the ground level of the lighthouse, he stopped and cast a stern look over his shoulder at his comrades as if to say, '_Don't give up on me, fella's... I'll be back.' _And then he disappeared into the shadows beyond the outside.

**Novemberdusk:** Hiko an 'Ape'? Hehehehehe... I like that. Had me laughing my head off the moment I read it. And Sano a 'Dog'? I loved that too... Your whole review absolutely sent my mind reeling with psychedelic possibilities. But I have to say 'no', everyone else is not reincarnated... so, no they won't really be part of the fight, persay... but I promise it will be interesting. Thanks for reviewing. Look forward to hearing from you again as always.

**Paisita (mapaulina):** Glad you like the story, and glad it left you with a smile. I'm always happy to please. God Bless. XD

**Catti-dono:** I know you waited for a long time... and I know how much you love this story. I love you too you know. I hope you liked this chapter as well. As for Quii and how she is going to fit into all of this... well, she is just sort of a distraction that is being used to each parties best benefit. Depends who is using her... As to our letter-to-letter conversation a bit ago... thank you so much for everything you said. It is nice when someone actually understands 'how' I feel and knows what I'm talking about. God Bless, dear friend. You are often in my thoughts.

**Kagura:** Ahh, Ruakii... love him don't you? I do. I think I told someone else that I had based him on a good friend of mine I had in High School years ago. The tough guy you love despite the obvious asshole gene's he carries. And yes, Quii is pronounced 'Key'. I have tried to keep true to basic characters... but everyone is shifted slightly askew... gives me more room to play around. God Bless, my friend. I so love reading your reviews. Hope you liked the chapter.

**BelleDayNight:** Belle!!! HEHEHE I wanted to slap Quii too... but then I was rolling my eyes for Kaoru's benefit the whole time I was writing the dialogue... someone had to do it. Kenshin wasn't really wasting time... he was just trying to get across his point that there are some things in the world that are greater than self-pride and laying blame... and as for him being a 'male whore'.... hmmmm, not my intention... he's just a safety guy. Doesn't want to get 'his girl' in 'trouble'. Anywhoo... Yes, I love Aoshi, and Sano always has to get his 2 cents worth in... I'm just glad you liked it. Your opinion means a lot to me, you know. Seeing as how we are trading them these days... LOL.

**Lere:** Oh my beloved Lere... How I love to see and hear from you. Thank you, Thank you for every word. I think I knew you believed in reincarnation... seems like we talked about that one day a while back... seems to me anyway... or perhaps it was the 'Karma' aspect because I believe in that as well... anyway, I thank you from the bottom of my old ladies heart. You are my touch-stone. I love you always.

**JD Fielding:** It is always an enlightening experience to hear from you. You are one of my favorite people and dearest friends. I value everything you say to me... in fact, I often gauge whether or not the chapter was really any good on how long and how detailed your reviews are. LOL... that is the honest truth.

Yes, the fight is going to be a winger... and I can hardly wait to get there myself... it is going to be full of surprises... of course, the whole fiction has been full of surprises... it's supposed to be.

I'm pleased that you enjoyed the 'morallity' conversation Kenshin heaped on Ruakii's shoulders. There were a few people who didn't quite understand what it was for... but, not surprising to me, you picked it right up... you always do. God Bless, JD... Thanks for hanging around.

**XxSilentxDreamerxX:** This is a new name for me to see... I would have remember this one... I am always glad to see new names... I am happy you took the time to drop me a few lines and tell me you liked the fic. And I sincerely hoped this chapter well enough to do it again. wink

**Alex:** Hang on! Don't go letting go... I don't have any repelling equipment to come get you if you fall off. wink. Glad you like it. Hope you liked this one too. Hope I can keep you guessing.

**Ice Angel Kaoru:** Yes, yes... you were right... Hiko is Daniel. LOLOL. Sorta sorry about making you remember 'The Scarlet Letter', but I did kinda use it as a premise for the story between Daniel and Cassandra... interesting that you're the only one who seemed to make the connection... at least, you're the only one who mentioned. (I never liked the story either... it always made me cry... the movie was worse... but I LOVE Gary Oldman so I had to watch it.)

How did I come up with this story? Hell... I don't know. LOLOLOL.

And yes, I will always give warnings at the beginning of chapters where there is going to be lemon/lime activity. No worries. Thanks for reviewing girly. Love to hear from you. wink

**De Lazy Lime:** Yo Woman? Wuz UP? You still I see... LOL. Yes, now we all know why Hiko was such an asshole... Ta da!! It's in the gene's... or the stars... or whatever... the planetary alighnment stuff.

I loved my Hiko in the 'White Warrior' too... I have to admit after I read this review you really got me thinking about things... guess I'll (we'll) just have to wait and see what the muses have to say about it all... eh? Hope you liked the chapter you crazy lemon headed girl... LOL.

**Midi Tenshi:** My Angel girl... I'm pleased you now know 'What the bleep is going on'... XD. I can't believe that you just read the whole dang story clear to 4 in the a.m. (Damn that's late at night... or early in the morning... depends on the perspective I guess... anyway... it's just damn ugly). XD I'll have to hop on over to your author's page and check out some of your fictions... I do that with a lot of my fans who write. That's where a lot of the stories archived on my webpage come from. Have you seen my webby? If not, go to my author's page and click on the link... You'll like it... and I'll check out your stories. :) Hope I see you here again.

**Ginny-cry:** No... I haven't considered making a ghost movie... I haven't even considered sending anything in to be published. Don't think I am that good. But thanks for saying so. :)

**Kean:** Another new name... I like this. I'm flattered you've been reading since the beginning... and I'm even more flattered that I finally wrote something 'WoW' enough that would make you want to leave me a review. Great review btw. I rarely have anyone tell me that my 'emotion' writing sucks them into its depths... that was a cool way of putting it. Thanks. I like it. I hope you liked this chapter too. I'm trying to keep the roller-coaster going... there's still so much to do and say... I hope I hear from you again. God Bless.

**Sick Galaxy:** Thanks for the Muffin... chewing... but's where's the milk??? winks Gotta love ya, baby. Thanks for reading... Love to see you here... always love it.

**InuLimbo:** Glad things cleared up for you. LOL... didn't know they were so cloudy... Hope you enjoyed the new chapter... I know I left you with another cliffy, but hell... that's the spice of life... yes? Hope to hear from you again. BTW Love Inuyasha. Just opened my new IY fanart gallary on my webby.

**Lendra-chan:** My sweet Lendra... Always happy to hear from you, sweetling... I am still worried as hell about you... You just didn't seem yourself in your last chapter of 'Waterfall'. I am hoping everything is alright... please let me know if I can help. God bless and much love.

**Unknown bee dee:** You little rat! You finally update... and then you tell me your mad at me!! LOLOL. Yes, I am plain evil... cause I just left you with another cliffy... so how'd you like that? Hmmmm? winks and grins maliciously I loved your new chapter. The way FF.net has been acting lately... I don't know if my review made it through... so I'm telling you now. IT WAS GREAT!! Hope you liked this chapter... even if it was another cliffy... See you soon, girly. Take care.

**Roku-chan:** ROXIE!! Oh how I love to see your name!! I just don't get to see you anymore... and I miss you. How is my Roxie-chan? Well, I do hope... and staying out of trouble (right). I know FF.net's review window has been acting stupid lately... and I haven't gotten several people's reviews... some of mine aren't making it through either. No worries... but you could drop me a letter once in a while... hint hint. Take care, young one... Much love. Moms

**Rain Angst:** I am sooooooooooo glad you're still reading. :} And I am more than a little glad that you think this is a great story. I love your name. It always makes me think of a downpour dismal day... yet, I always see this little cabin up in the mountains with smoke coming out of its chimney... and firelight winking from the little glass paned windows... every time... weird huh?

**Chibi-battousai:** So, you liked my 'thought' talk? Me too... it always adds such a cool ambiance to the whole concept of the scene and the 'feeling' I'm trying to get. Thanks for noticing. Glad you liked it. BTW– I like Ghost stories too... and scary movies... they're the best.

**Half-breed-demon-fox:** Yah, another new name! Glad you love the story. Hope you liked this chapter. Would be great to hear from you again. Love your name.

**Videl1621:** VIDEL!!! It's Videl... It's Videl... Whoopie!! Hehehehe... glad it gave you chills... I like that... and no problems with however long it takes you... I KNOW how busy you are... I just feel bad that I haven't seen you on-line for such a long time. Have missed chatting with you. Hope everything is going well for you... And I can't wait to see what you have to say next... God bless my dear friend. It is always a joy to see your name... it just makes me happy all over... I swear it does.

**Steph:** Another new name! WhooHoo!! Glad you love the story... and glad you took the time to drop me a few words to let me know that I am being successful in maintaining the feeling of suspense. I get worried sometimes that I am losing my touch... you know? But I appreciate your letting me know that I haven't. I hope you liked this chapter too, and I hope I hear from you again. Thanks.

**Kik-ting:** Creepy, creepy, creepy... that's the name of the game, kiddo. Hehehehehe. And, Nooooooo, Kenshin is NOT going to die... but that's not to say he isn't going to get messed up... HEHEHEHE... you'll just have to wait and see. Oh I'm evil... so evil... love ya kid. Hope you liked this chapter.... sorry about the cliffy... sorta. :)

**Twishinky:** Oh ho... look whose back... LOLOL.... nice to see you, Trish... winks.

Thanks for the 'Genius' bit. I could throw a bit of that your way too, you know. Hope to see you again... looking for your updates as well. Love ya... no, really... I do. :P

**The Wolf of Stars:** WoW! I love your name. Awesomely cool... reminds me of a book series I read... my fav. book series actually... by Sara Douglass. The Enchanter books... there was a character in there named 'Wolfstar'. I read your name and it just immediately brought those stories to mind. Anyway... I digress... I have to agree... If only guys in the real world were like this... but alas, only in my fondest dreams and fantasies. Of course... a lot of Kenshin's better traits are patterned after my own 'bad boy' husband. He has a lot of those high personal moral standards about being accountable and responsible... and according to his father (before he passed away a couple of months ago), he was like that even when he was a young 'bad kid'. But not everyone is as 'perfect' as Kenshin. sigh. Thanks for the review. Hope you liked the new chapter... Hope to see you again. Really do love your name. Btw... Wolfstar was a beautiful birdman... gorgeous... drool

**Nguardian:** Good to see you again... Glad finals are over for you. Finals suck... I remember. I am gratified to see so many questions on your mind... so much wonderment... does my heart good to know I have to setting on the edge wondering what is going to happen... but mostly... I'm just glad to see you. I've missed you. Truly. You get used to seeing and hearing someone's voice and when they aren't there for whatever reason... you just miss them. Like missing a friends phonecall or something. Anyway... glad to see you girl. Hope you liked the chapter.

**HaPPyBuNNy (LiL AniMe ChiX):** WoW! uP and DoWn We Go AgAiN...gasp! LOL. I love it... you crack me up every time I read your reviews. It's like reading one of those movie trailers for an action flic... gasp... hehehehe. And as for Megumi, Misao, and Tomoe... well, if you read this chapter, it should have answered all of your questions... or at least most of them. Thanks for making my day, and thanks for reading and reviewing. Hope you are always here.

**The Lone Lemon:** So I scared you... did I? Mwaahhahahahahahaha... cool. Is it chilly in here?

**Psychotic-catster:** Ho hooo... she's made it up with everyone else... Yee Haw! LOLOL. I know, I'm bad... but damn... it's good to see you here with the rest of the pack winks even if you are an impatient little so and so... LOL. And actually... I was always pronouncing 'Kao" in my head as "Kay-O" not 'Cow"... but that does put an interesting spin on things don't it? LOL. Anyway... You funny girl... I love your reviews... you make me laugh... you make me think... your just plain crazy and I love you. Hope you liked the new chapter. God Bless.

**Mishorou Mie:** Love you for loving it. Hope you loved this chapter. See you soon.

**Articunomage:** Another New Name!!! I'm gonna pass out... WOWSERS!!! Welcome... Welcome... Thank you for the review... and for the ideas... I will take them into consideration... there are some things that you suggested that I really liked... I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope I hear from you again. Thanks for taking the time to let me know what you think... and thanks for the feedback. It is greatly appreciated... as are the ideas. God Bless.

**Xia Xue:** WoW! You almost got left out kiddo. I was just getting ready to send this off to my beta reader when you sent in your review. I do sincerely hope that your 'virgin eyes' have recovered since our last meeting. winks. And I hope I haven't scarred you for life... winks again. Bless you... I love hearing from you even if it is only a line or two. Hope you liked the update. Take care... see you soon.

**Anonymous Reviewers:** To all of those who reviewed and did not leave a name... thank you for the kind words, and for the encouragement. Thank you for taking the time to stop and write this humble author a few lines and let me know that I have succeeded in entertaining you. I would gladly give you a personal 'thank you', but you need to leave me your name before I can do that. But, thank you just the same.

God Bless to all of you who read and review... and God Bless to everyone who reads... this is my personal favorite story... though I have another in progress as well, called 'Beloved of The White Flame' which is a Sequel to 'The White Warrior and The Angel of Destruction'. This particular story just seems to have more of 'me' in it than most... I don't really know why... it just does.

**A/N:** Sorry about the cliffy... having a little writers block... need to take a breather and think... also need to judge the 'Kissing Contest' and get the winner posted. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please Review.


	18. Party of Two

A/N:Sorry it took so long to update. I haven't been feeling well for quite some time now . . . but hopefully things will begin to look up soon. Thank you to all for the encouraging words. You guys are my second family, and you mean the world to me. You bring joy to this old lady's heart when she needs it the most. Thank you.

Review Response at end of chapter.

Chapter Eighteen

'Party of Two'

The insides of the lighthouse were very different in the daytime, just as it was outside, but the overwhelming feeling of loneliness and desolation remained ingrained into each and every brick and crack, each broken window, and each crumbled pile of aged dust that flitted across the floor.

It was a tomb whether in daylight or dark, and it was still a tomb causing Kenshin to catch his breath as the shroud of misery and all-encompassing emptiness reached out and wrapped him tightly within its dusty confines, making him feel as if he were walking back in time; a time when laughter had died, when love and joy had been murdered, and the innocents were buried in the deep of the sea and left forgotten. He could feel himself walking into his own past life and, with each step he took farther into the grayish cavern of the decaying building, the hazy clouds of the present began to peal away leaving swirling confusion in their wake.

He watched in abject astonishment as the walls began to ripple like so much moving water around him, giving him the sensation of being in a fish bowl, and then to his bewilderment, they began to rebuild themselves, the delicate glass of the hand blown light fixtures gathering their lost shards from off the floor and taking their places upon the now shining brass fittings. Furniture long rotted and blown away by the winds shimmered in the mists as their bright fabrics were restored and wooden legs reformed, bringing back to life the colors and simple elegance of the old Victorian era that had made them.

Scrolled door moldings, once dry rotted and termite ridden, reformed and refreshed the white paint that had set them off to such splendor in the first days, and the heavy brocade carpets re-wove their colorful patterns as they rolled and stretched their lengths once more across the wooden and stone floors, casting their spirit of elegance into the rebirth of an age. The pride of Hackler's point was coming back to life as it welcomed back into its embrace the loving soul of Edmond Fetlock and, as the last pane of broken glass renewed itself, the slender young man with the flaming red locks stood frozen in perfect awe and wonderment at the spectacle that lay before him. The breath lay frozen in his lungs, his hands hung limply at his sides, and his feet seemed to grow roots as the final brilliant carpet shimmered and smoothed itself flat beneath him. _'How . . . '_

The 'Somber Man' had welcomed home its first Lamp Master with open and loving arms, and he felt tears of regret and loss sliding down his face as memories he had never known he carried with him came rushing back unbidden to drown him in their wake.

Memories of standing the catwalk watching for the ships in the Harbor as the magnificent beacon bore into the darkness lighting the way for all to see. His 'beacon' . . . his 'lamp' . . . _his home_. Edmond had loved the lighthouse almost as much as he had loved Cassandra. He recalled the hours of standing and holding her slender form cradled against him as they both watched the sea roll and crash against the base of the island. Hours spent listening to the gulls and the other birds as they 'cawed' and 'screeched' at each other over morsels of food they found floating in the water, or just standing and watching the flocks as they flew by in search of a landing or a school of fish just beneath the surface of the water.

Memories of chasing her up or down the long winding iron stairwell as she laughed and threw her clothes at him over her shoulder until she was wearing nothing but her corset and knickers, her deep blue eyes dancing with passion and mischief.

Memories of the hours they spent making love in his bed and each time she would pray to God that he had given her a child, but they had not ever been blessed with a baby . . . not until the very end . . . the very end . . . the end . . .

Kenshin-Edmond's violet eyes blew open in horror and grief as that long lost memory came floating to the surface of his subconscious and took form finally letting him remember something that had nearly killed him 300 years ago. _'She was pregnant with our baby when he . . . when he . . . Oh God . . . Daniel, you bastard . . . she was pregnant with my child when you killed her you fucking maniac.' _Unbidden and unwanted, but uncontrollably tears came to burn the redheads eyes and a low moan of deepest grief was torn from his long tortured soul. _'You took everything from me . . . my beloved, my child . . . you took it all that night you threw her into the sea . . . and for what? Your stinking pride? Your foul, honorless manhood?_' A ragged sob of loss shook his slender frame as he raised a hand to cover his mouth trying to prevent any further loss of sound as he stood in his pain. _'Why didn't you just leave us alone? Why? Oh God, why?'_

"It took you long enough, Laddie." The snarling voice behind him caused Kenshin-Edmond to jerk around and automatically reach for the weapon on his left hip. He found the hilt of a sword rise readily to his palm and was immediately shaken. Looking down he realized his attire had changed right along with his surroundings and he was now wearing Victorian style breeches, stockings, boots that came to his knees, a shirt with flaring sleeves and an ascot tied around his neck in an intricate bow, and a satin vest of the finest deep blue silk.

_'What the hell . . . Oh My God! I'm back in Evermore . . . 300 years ago facing Daniel March . . . again.' _

For indeed, the man that stood before him was not his stepfather but the flesh and blood manifestation of the handsome emotionally disturbed ghost he and Kaoru had run into that terrible night a few weeks earlier.

"Daniel…"

"Very good, Laddie . . . I see ye be remembering things the way they are supposed to be." An apologetic sort of smile flittered across the rakish features as Daniel swept low in a bow of greeting. "It has been a good long time since our eyes last looked on each other . . . Aye . . . _Edmond_?"

"Aye . . . but not long enough." Kenshin-Edmond replied in a flat neutral tone as he took in the other's appearance and attire. He was wearing much the same type of clothing except he was sporting a heavy coat made of black wool that reached to his knees. The large split in the fabric from hem to tail bone gave him freedom of movement despite the confinement of the garment, and Kenshin-Edmond made a mental note not to underestimate that ability.

"Do I detect a note of . . . displeasure in your voice, Laddie?" Daniel's eyes took on a mocking gleam as he dusted off an imaginary particle from the lapel of the great coat. "And I thought you might be glad to see ole' Daniel after all this time. Am I wrong?" The change in the man's speech and demeanor was unmistakable, and violet crystals narrowed thoughtfully as Kenshin-Edmond searched for a reason behind the new smoother quality to the usually brusque uncouth individual. _'Hiko.'_

"Aye, you are wrong if you think there would ever be a time I would be glad to see you . . . or Hiko for that matter. Neither of you have ever brought Kenshin or myself anything but pain and grief, but I see he has improved your personality and manners somewhat. I suppose _that _is to be applauded at least." Kenshin-Edmond smiled inwardly at the sour look that passed over the other mans face as the true meaning of his observation struck a cord within the fused soul and spirit. _'Didn't like that, eh? To bad you arrogant disgusting animal. I know what you are inside and behind those new manners and smooth speech . . . an animal. No matter what you do or say, Daniel, you will always be an animal.'_

"'E's improved more than just my manners, Eddy, me boy."

"Really? Pray tell, what has the old man taught you that you didn't already know? How to drink more and stay sober longer?" The sharp features darkened dangerously and the green eyes narrowed into slits of fury as Hiko's anger stirred within Daniel's heart.

"Shut-up." He snarled. "You know what he knows . . . you know he knows how to fight, and between us, we will dispatch you easily."

"I think not," Kenshin shifted his weight more to his rear foot as Edmond eyed the seething man in front of them. "You will underestimate us just as Hiko underestimated his son . . . and you will be the one who is dispatched." Emitting a threatening growl of challenge, Daniel whipped open his great coat and exposed the hilt of a sword hanging from his left hip. It was intricately shaped with a twisted golden handle and etched leather grip. Several long tassels hung from its tip on golden ropes in the colors of red, yellow, and purple. The origins of the weapon were obvious.

"Is that Spanish steel I spy, my friend?" Daniel looked down at the sheathed sword and smiled smugly an ugly look entering his glittering emerald gaze.

"Aye, that it is. Cost me a fine penny it did, but there is no better steel to be had anywhere on God's green earth than Spanish steel." Glittering green eyes lifted and locked with hard violet and Daniel smiled acidly. "They say it can't be broken or tarnished, and that it holds an edge longer than any other blade made these days."

"Is that right?" The face remained carefully blank the eyes flat and hard and Kenshin-Edmond met the malevolent gaze evenly. "I had not heard that." Slowly he shifted his feet and placed the right in front of the left, turning it at a right degree angle. "I had always heard Japanese steel was of better quality because of its flexibility and tempered strength."

"Bah!" Daniel spat nastily at the mention of the Japanese and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Those little demons know nothing about makin' swords. They are the children of the Devil and anyone who is foolish enough to carry a weapon made by one of them will surely perish because of it."

"Truly?" Kenshin-Edmond carefully ran the edge of his thumb along the edge of the polished wooden sheath and pushed the hilt of his sword free with an almost inaudible 'click' as he continued to watch Daniel warily. The big man was inching closer to him the more he talked. _'He thinks he has me occupied . . . he thinks I am not paying attention . . . watch him . . . he's planning . . . ' _"I have always found Japanese steel far superior to any other in both balance and edge."

"Humph! That is because ye are a Godless pig, Eddy. You never did know what was the most important thing about fightin' when it came to a confrontation . . . did you?" The emerald eyes narrowed and filled with hatred. "This Hiko . . . e's a ruthless bastard . . . worse than I ever was in me day . . . some of the things he has done."

"He never killed his wife, Daniel." Kenshin-Edmond watched with satisfaction as the other man paled significantly. "Hiko is many things . . . none of them being good or kind, but he never killed anyone in cold blood . . . he never picked his beloved up and threw her screaming into the winds and then watched until her body smashed itself upon the rocks . . . '_HE' _never did _THAT._"

"Shut-up!" Daniel shouted as he whirled away from the penetrating violet look. "You don't know anything about it . . . You don't know what happened."

"You are right . . . _I_ don't know . . . but Kenshin does, or have you forgotten that night he and his beloved followed you up to the catwalk . . . or did you not see them there? Did you not know they watched you pick up MY CASSANDRA AND THROW HER OVER THE CATWALK?!!"

Daniel slowly turned to face the raging man as his voice cracked with grief and pain. Green eyes once narrow in fury were now wide with disbelief and confusion. "No . . . they didn't see it . . . I told them I did it . . . they didn't see what I did . . . they didn't . . . I swear they didn't . . . I . . . "

"Silence you filthy pig!" Edmond screamed as Kenshin faded somewhat to the back of their mind. "I have his memories in my head. I can see what YOU did . . . You fucking bastard! She begged for her life and you just threw her over like she was a bag of rotten vegetables . . . HOW COULD YOU??? HOW?" The voice cracked on a sob and Edmond threw his head back and screamed in emotional agony.

"Noooo . . . You can't know that . . . you can't." Daniel slumped against the wall with a look of defeated grief and stared at the sobbing red head. "I loved 'er . . . I did." Tears began to slip down the handsome craggy features as he was flooded with the memory of her body dropping out of his arms and he lifted a trembling hand to cover his eyes in despair. "I loved 'er."

Sunday Morning

Saitou Kitchen

7:00 a.m.

After the initial shock of Ruakii and Quii being gone, Saitou had made Tokio sit down at the kitchen table while he made them both a cup of coffee. That was when she had found the note; the note that Kenshin had left some twenty minutes earlier before he and the others had left, and as she read its contents to her husband over their coffee, both of them became more than just a little concerned.

"Hajime," Tokio's worried brown eyes searched out the glittering topaz of her husband's thoughtful gaze. "What does this mean? Kenshin's talking about 'ghosts' and 'murder' and he says that Quii and Kaoru have been kidnaped . . . Do you think this is some kind of Halloween joke?"

"No, Tokio." The sound of his voice was low and carefully controlled. "I do not think this is a Halloween joke. If I have learned anything about Kenshin in the last few weeks it is that he doesn't like to joke around . . . about much of anything, and he would never joke around about Kaoru. You've seen how they are."

"He loves her."

"Exactly. He wouldn't leave like this unless he really believed something about it, but …" His wolfish eyes narrowed as he struggled with the 'strangeness' of the note. "He wants ME to know where they went, why, and what for so that if they don't come back …"

"He wants you to come after them . . . doesn't he?"

"I think so. I think he wants me to come looking for him and the others just to prove he's not to blame . . . again."

"Oh Hajime," Tokio leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder as worry overcame her. "You're going anyway aren't you?"

"Of course . . . I can't leave all those kids out there, on their own. For God's sake, three of them are mine." Tokio rose and looked at him quizzically.

"Three?"

"Yes, honey . . . three. Ruakii, Quii… and Kenshin." Golden eyes flared with barely suppressed rage as he lifted the cup to his lips and took a drink. "And if that bloody maniac has my little girl out there in that old lighthouse . . . I swear, I'll kill him if he so much as touches a single hair on her head." A movement off to his left caught Saitou's eyes and his gaze darted to catch what had made it. A small gasp of surprise filled his lungs as he met the stalwart if not stoic gaze of a very wide awake five year old.

"Papa took Kaoru and Quii…" Cleo said in a matter of fact tone as she looked at the gapping adults setting at the small table. "He wants Kenshin to come get them so he can kill him . . . only it isn't just Papa that is waiting for Kenshin to come." Tokio got up and moved over to the little girl, picking her up in her arms and brushing the flaming hair out of her eyes with a gentle hand.

"What are you talking about, Honey?" She asked quietly exchanging confused looks with her husband. "Who else is waiting?"

"The 'bad man'." Cleo looked straight at Saitou as she spoke and the seriousness of her little voice sent chills up the worried mans spine. "The 'bad man' who killed the people who were supposed to be my mommy and daddy a long time ago…"

"Wha… " Saitou half rose out of his chair as the strangest feeling of deja vu rushed past him setting his hair on end. "What do you mean by that, little one?" Tokio brought Cleo over and handed her off to Saitou who settled her carefully in his lap and locked gazes with her. "What people are you talking about?"

"I dream it sometimes," She said as she looked into the troubled golden gaze. "There's a man and a lady who are going to have a baby . . . I'm the baby, but 'the bad man' comes and he kills them and I don't get to be borned to them. He's a really bad man . . . he cries a lot and tries to hurt himself, but he's already dead so he can't." Saitou's shocked gaze lifted from the child's honest angelic face and stared hard into the alarmed features of his wife. _'What am I listening to? Past life memories that almost were? Dear Lord . . . was she supposed to be . . . '_

"What did your mommy and daddy look like, Sweetheart? Do you know anyone now who looks like them?"

"Uh-huh… "

"Who?"

"Kenshin looks like my daddy did . . . I think that is why I always loved him so much better than everybody else. I think he was supposed to be my daddy…don't you?" Saitou closed his eyes in disbelief as he hugged the child to him and gently stroked her hair as his thoughts began to fly into chaos. _'Kaoru. Oh my God . . . '_

"Tokio?"

"Yes, Hajime?"

"Go wake up Dharma . . . we need to get dressed. All of us."

"ALL of us?" Tokio looked pointedly at the little girl, and Saitou nodded.

"Yes, ALL of us. We have to get out to that lighthouse as soon as possible."

"To find the kids?"

"Yes, but mostly… " He paused and looked down at the bright red hair cradled against his broad chest. "Mostly to stop Kenshin's stepfather from killing him and Kaoru . . . again."

"Killing . . . ?" Her voice squeaked with alarm as she stared at him in horror.

"Yes, kill . . . now go . . . hurry! There isn't a moment to spare."

"Don't splutter to me of grief and love, you heartless animal." Edmond wiped his eyes on the back of his hand as he turned and faced the withering form of Daniel where he was slumping against the wall. "You never loved her. You loved having control over her and making her feel like your servant instead of your wife, but you never loved HER."

"She was my Princess. I worshiped 'er!" The larger man roared in defense of his own emotions as the tears poured down his face. "And she gave me naught but coldness and an empty bed in return. She'd rather spread her legs for the likes' o' you than honor our marriage vow's and give me the children that were my right as her 'usband . . . she was a whore!"

"She was beautiful and the most affectionate and loving woman I ever knew." Edmond's voice dropped into a low and dangerous tone as his fingers tightened around the shaft of the sword sheath. "She was open and giving and would have stayed with you if you hadn't been such a vicious drunken ass."

"Wha . . . what are you goin' on about?"

"You were a filthy drunk, Daniel. You beat her when you drank. You beat her until she was an unconscious rag doll in your hands and then you beat her more. You broke her arms, her ribs, her jaw . . . you abused her beyond the point of her being able to bear it any longer, so she left you. She left you in search of peace and freedom from a life worse than any hell or prison you could have had her put into."

"I never…"

"LIAR!!" Edmond's shout rang off the white plaster walls and beat back down upon the other distraught man causing him to flinch beneath the power of its wrath. "Do not lie to me . . . I saw the scars . . . I heard from her own lips the atrocities you heaped upon her soft flesh and then denied to her eyes."

"Never… " The denial rose as the emerald eyes filled with panic.

"You murdered your unborn child…"

"NEVER!!"

"LIAR!!" Edmond screamed. "She was eight months pregnant when you beat her in a drunken rage and nearly killed her. The babe died in her bloody arms after she pulled it from her own body while you passed out on the bed . . . oblivious."

"Never . . . oh God . . . never . . . I'm not that monster, I'm not . . . I love 'er . . . I loved . . ."

"You murdered my child too." Daniel stopped mid plea frozen and stunned. His blank dead eyes rose and locked with Edmond's amber tinted lavender gaze as he tried to understand what the blathering redhead had just said. _'Your child . . . your . . . child . . . '_

"Your child . . . my precious Cassy was whelping your child when she . . . ?" Realization finally dawned in the dark green orbs and the cast of a shroud of furious rage could be seen fluttering down over the sharply defined features as Daniel absorbed the information, and then he screamed shaking the window panes with his fury. "_Me precious Cassandra was pregnant with your bastard??" _

"That child was no bastard, Daniel." Edmond snarled dangerously as his own fury began to boil again. "It was a child made of love and commitment . . . _I _loved her! I loved her with all my heart and soul . . . "

"_YOU LEFT 'ER BEHIND TO FACE ME ALONE, YOU BLEEDING COWARD_!!" Daniel shouted into the smaller mans face and watched him flinch as the arrow hit home burying itself deep in Edmond's conscience. "You left her unprotected from me wrathwhile you ran off with your tail between your legs like a whipped pup."

"She told me to go . . . she said she could handle you on her own." Guilt washed over him in waves of hot lava burning him as his soul withered in agony.

"And you believed 'er? You bloody fool. It's as much your fault she's dead as it is mine." An evil laughter rose to fill the room and Edmond closed his eyes against the rising grief within his heart as it covered him and threatened to consume him."It might as well as been your 'ands that pushed her over as well as mine . . . you abandoned 'er and she died."

"I know," the admission was weighed down heavily with pain as it fell from his lips and drifted into the room like a foul cloud of ill will that boded despair and defeat for the younger man. "Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I told myself that over and over after I came back and found her gone? After I found the bedroom completely destroyed with her blood spattered all over it . . . and a shred of her nightdress still clinging to the edge of the catwalk?" Amber eyes lifted and bore malevolently into the hated object of all his grief and rage. "Don't you think I blamed myself every moment of every day after that that I hadn't listened to my own instincts and stayed . . . stayed and faced you instead of her? Don't you think I know that, you insolent murdering ape? I blamed myself for everything, but it was your filthy animals hands that took her from me . . . you took everything from me . . . my whole world . . . my whole life . . . every reason I had to live. _You stole my beloved_!"

"Noooo!" Daniel screamed and pulled his rapier from its leather scabbard. "She was _MY_ beloved . . . You stole her from _MEEEEEEEEE_!"The Spanish steel whistled through the air in a deadly over head arch as he sprang agilely through the air toward the unmoving redhead, and in his mind it seemed to him that he was going to split the smaller man in half before he had the chance to react. _'Die, Edmond!' _His mind squealed in bloodlust as he brought the blade down in blinding fury and mindless strength. _'Die, you bloody bastard!' _But as the shining blade cut through the air it met nothing but empty space where the other man had been standing only a split instant before, and the unrealized force of the blade sent Daniel stumbling into the center of the room. His blind rush had missed its target completely, and now his back was entirely exposed.

The blow came hard and swift catching him at an angle across the shoulder blades crushing him to his knees with its power and pushing the air from his lungs in one great 'whoosh'. Pain exploded through his upper body and little blue and amber stars appeared dancing in the peripheral of his vision as the smothering darkness threatened to claim him. The clattering sound of his blade bouncing across the floor greeted his numb ears and he fell forward onto the palms of his hands trying to catch his breath. _'What . . . what did he hit me with?'_

As if reading his mind, Edmond's voice drifted down to Daniel's ringing ears rubbing salt into his aching pride. "I hit you with my sheath, Daniel . . . My very 'Japanese' sheath. They make them out of wood you see, so they can be used as a weapon just as well as the sword in some instances . . . and since I have no intention of killing you, striking out at you with my sheath instead of my very 'Japanese' Katana seems to be the better alternative; otherwise, I would have nearly cut you in half with the level of force I used." His booted feet stopped just inside of Daniel's visual perspective. "Japanese steel is folded over 200 times and is razor sharp . . . you would have been dead before you hit the floor. There would have been no second pass or duel for us to engage in for that matter. You are out classed and out matched this time . . . just as Hiko was by his son, Kenshin. I suggest you stay down and stay out of my way. I have come for Cassandra . . . and Kaoru." The boots walked away. "Don't get in our way . . . _WE_ are out of patience."__

_Sorry it is so short, but I have recently suffered a seizure and severe writer's block is always a side effect or drawback afterwards. But it has been a reasonably long time since I updated so I knew I needed to do something. I hope this will suffice until I can get my head back on straight. Thank you to everyone whose reading . . . and thank you to those who stop to drop me a line or two. God Bless to all . . . much love from the Old Lady._

_**Lere:** I have always hated putting people through torture... but for some inane reason, I love doing it to you. HEHEHEHE You're so cute when your anxious. I love you, woman._

_ **Half-breed-demon-fox:** A little blush is good for the complexion... oh don't ya know. I am glad you still love the story. Thanks for hanging in there._

_**Catti-dono:** Do-jo master of fanfic stories?? WoW! That almost makes me feel bad about this cliffie... almost. wink Good to see you, dear one. _

_**JD Fielding:** Yes, the analogy of Kenshin and his friends to the sparrows was intention. I love it when you get my philosophy stuff. Not everyone does... but you always seem to pick right up on it._

_I love Ruakii too much to ever really change his character much. He has his moments of glory when he shines and shows everybody he's not the total ass they thought he was... but he's still a big jerk when he wants to be. He just can't help it... it's in the gene's._

_I'm glad that I am able to get my emotional 'points' across. That is more than half the battle writing my stories... getting to moods of my people into the words and the words onto the paper... and the meanings and feels into the readers head. Thanks for noticing. I'm flattered. _

_I offer to you great thanks as always for your words... you remain as always one of my dearest and most beloved fan/friends. Thank you ever so much for the story referrals. I am getting to them slowly but surely. And enjoying them immensely. God Bless, JD. Loved your last Chapter._

_**BelleDayNight:** Belle, Belle,Belle.... Sorry... not a really big fight, but it is still coming... and no saving the damsel in distress... but it is coming... I swear. I like playing with Saitou and Aoshi's characters... but you know that already, LOL. Thanks for helping me out with my other fic. And thank's for all your support. You're the best!! I'm still waiting on 'Heart of A Wolf'... but I understand what you mean when you say 'they take a lot out of me' when you write the ones that are close to your heart. Love you, Belle. God Bless_

_**Nguardian:** Little bro's are soooo persistent... but a necessary evil. Hehehehe I have 3 teenage sons... I know all about 'little brother' problems. I was happy to get to talk to you online the other day. It really MADE my day. Thank you so much. You don't know how much it meant to me. I think you are a wonderful person. God Bless_

_**Alex:** Didn't quite get Kaoru back... but he did get to kick a little butt... Glad you like the story._

_**Steph:** Yes... Ruakii is a pain in the butt... but you gotta love him anyway. I am flattered you liked that scene so much. It was actually quite difficult to write... a lot of emotional dynamics to consider, but all in all... I was fairly satisfied with it. I'm glad you were too._

_**Rain angst:** Yup... still see the cabin in the trees... thanks for the kind words. So glad I've been able to keep your attention. _

_**Kaoru-890:** I always try to stick to a two week schedule if I can... sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Thanks for reading and I'm so glad you are enjoying. Take care_

_**Reignashii:** Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I really appreciate your review. You sound like a very 'bubbly' type of person. I like those. Hope to see you again. God Bless_

_**HaPPy BuNNy:** AnD She'S BaCk... I love your stuff... I wish you could've remembered what you wanted to ask...hmmm. Anyway... Being the 'vabomavoarom' sounds like the good thing. Hehehehe So I'll say Thank You. Does Hiko get killed? Maybe... Maybe not... have to wait and see, kiddo. See you soon. Take care._

_**De Lazy Lime:** De Limey Girl!! Love your letters and your reviews. The writers block is slowly melting... but I really loved reading your ideas. The brain in your head must be more than half hentai... hehehehehehe. I wouldn't have you any other way. And as for your imagination running away with you?? Damn Girl... I think it would leave powder burns behind it when it passed. God Bless my dear friend. Much love and gratitude._

_**Kuroi Tamashii:** Yes, yes, yes... another cliffie... followed by yet another cliffie... I'm wretched and cruel... I hope this update finds you with dry eyes and no heavy objects in your hands (to throw at me). God Bless... see you soon._

_**Lendra-chan:** My Alendra... my sweet girl. God Bless for your praises. I'm just glad that you were alright... I can handle you being in a rush and ending up with a goofy chapter... that's allowed. I'm also flattered your still over here reading my offerings. Yours are improving more all the time. I saw you had a new one... I need to look at it. Just haven't had the time. But I will._

_**MZ.AMberEYES:** sorry about the cliffie... sort of. Hehehehehehehehe. OOPS! I did it again too. (Still hope you like the chapter :) ) God Bless my friend._

_**Sick Galaxy:** Thanks for the lollipop... but what am I going to do with the plastic sword? Hmmmmm... beat my kids??? grins wickedly._

_Glad you loved the chapter... hope you like this one too. One of my favorite parts was when Aoshi kicked Ruakii too... I was giggling when I wrote it. He was the last person anyone would expect to reach out and 'wail' on the smart-ass. Take care, kiddo. Hope to see you soon._

_**Rei Ronin:** Bliss? WoW! Thanks Ronin! I have tried really hard to keep everything as equal and even as possible... in that I tried not to let one aspect of the story drown out any of the others before everything had a chance to play its way out. Thank you... You make me blush, you sweet boy. God Bless, Ronin. This dingy old lady loves hearing from you._

_**The Wolf Of Stars:** Goosebumps... kewl! I love doing the goosebump thing. Hehehehehe_

_As for emotional... that is what real life is all about. Emotions and learning to live with what they do to our lives. I'm glad you liked what I wrote. God Bless. See you soon._

_**Masakomegami:** Yes, I created both 'Ruakii' and 'Quii'. They are my OC for this fiction. I also created Kenshin's mother, 'Dharma', and his little sister, 'Cleo'. I hope that isn't too many OC for you. I hope the story is good enough to keep your attention. Take Care._

_**Roku-Chan:** ITS ROXIE!! It was wonderful to talk to you on-line the other day. I was soooo happy to see you... I missed my Roxie-chan. You are one of the brightest lights in my fanfiction world... I miss you when your gone. wink God Bless you little 'fairy'... hope to see you again soon. _

_**Psychotic-catster:** I don't care if you review first or last, sweetie... I just love reading your reviews. You make me laugh. The 'Cow' vs 'Kay-o' thing has had me going forever now... and no, you don't say her name 'Kay-o-ru... hehehehehehehe. Glad you still like the story... hope you enjoyed this chappie. God bless you funny thing. Hope to see you soon._

_**Kagura:** Greetings! Hehehehehe... 'wreck the day'? That's funny. I can even hear that dumb little sing-song in my head. Yes, Quii has much to learn... Aoshi is the Doli Lama... and Kenshin, superman spandex? WoW! Now there's a mental... Hehehehehehe. Hope you liked this chappie, my friend. God Bless. _

_**Anime Artist Queen:** Does your name indicate that you are someone who draws 'Anime'? If so, do you post it anywhere in particular? I sort of hated making Hiko my bad guy... but he was the only one in the pile who could pull it off without my creating a whole new character. I didn't want to use Shishio... he wasn't 'big' enough or 'suave' enough to pull it off. Too rough around the edges. Anyway... I hope you liked this chapter... Hope to see you again. God Bless_

_**Twishinky:** Twisha!! Hey girly! Wuz up? Nail biting blithering idiot? I like that... you know... I really like that. HEHEHEHEHE. I am the Queen of cliffies... undisputed. Ta Da... see me in all my wicked glory! J/k Glad you liked it. Waiting for you to update 'Internal Affairs'. _

_Oh... before I forget. Put tabasco sauce on your nails... that'll break you biting them. Hehehe God Bless, my dear friend. Much love._

_**Polaris-fire-star:** sorry about scaring you... and sorry about the cliffies. Well, sorta sorry... the story supposed to be scary... and I have a thing for cliffies. I'm evil, I can't help it. But I hope you liked the story. I hope to see you again. God Bless_

_**Mishorou Mie:** You always love it. And I'm still happy. Hope you liked this one too._

_**Luraia Soul:** Hope I didn't take too long... and I hope it was worth the wait. God Bless_

_**ixchen:** Hey, I know you grins. Your welcome for the story. And don't worry about not reviewing every single chapter. You've been with me for quite awhile now, I just love seeing your name when I get to. Thank you. Take care. _

_**xia-xue:** Better late than never, my friend. Playing 'games' eh? Hey, schools out... my boys are on their Play Station and X-Box almost 24/7... no worries. Just love to hear from you when I do. Glad you still like the story. God Bless... don't stay up all night... your eyeballs will fall out. :)_


	19. A Ghost Story

A/N: Gomen nasi, my friends. This chapter was a beastie. I had the ever present writers block to battle, and then all of a sudden it was like the dam burst open and all this 'stuff' came flooding out and I couldn't stop writing. Weird. Anyway, as it turns out, this is the longest chapter 'The Bad Kid' has seen to date. I hope it is enjoyed. It is the first thing I have enjoyed writing in quite some time... I'm glad to share it with you. Gomen for the indecent length. I couldn't help it.

Review Response at end of chapter.

Chapter Nineteen

A Ghost Story

Dark. Would it always be this dark, or was there a way to get out, or perhaps a window to uncover? Kaoru had been running her hands along the walls looking for some kind of a doorway or tunnel or anything for what seemed like hours now, but she had not found so much as an air vent for her troubles. However, there was one bright spot in her well of waning hope, fresh air was leaking into the prison that she and Quii shared from somewhere. She knew this was true because the two of them had been inside of the dark room long enough for the air to have started to turn stale if there was not a fresh air exchange available. _'At least we won't suffocate.' _She thought with a dour smile on her face.

She could hear Quii's quiet snores coming from somewhere behind her and off to the left indicating she had almost made a complete round of the room they were in. _'Dammit! How did he get us in here?' _Smacking her hand against the wall in frustration, she cast her gaze around the darkness for the umteenth time trying to see if there was a speck of light she had overlooked on previous inspections, but found nothing. _'I don't understand it. No doorframe light, no window edges... nothing. Where the hell are we? I know we're at the lighthouse, but where?' _

Leaning against the cold damp of the crumbling bricks, Kaoru heaved a sigh of despair and felt the heaviness of anxiety and fear starting to take hold of her heart. It would be so easy to just lay down, curl up into a ball, and shut everything out like she used to when the memories of her parents got too difficult to bear. It would be so much simpler to hide down inside of herself than it would be to keep dealing with the uncertainties of this nightmare. She just didn't know if she had it within her to keep up the front of strength and calm that she'd been showing for Quii's benefit. She was tired, she was afraid, and she was beginning to think no one was ever going to find them.

_'No, I can't give in to this.' _She chided herself roughly as she raised a dirty hand to her face and scrubbed at the burning tears that threatened to fall from her tired eyes. _'Kenshin will come, I know he will. He won't leave us in here. He'll get the guys together and they'll all come to get us out.' _Her head dropped back against the wall and she could feel strands of her hair getting caught up in the tiny jagged cracks inside of the old bricks, but it didn't really matter. She was so filthy dirty by now, what was a little more grime in her hair going to do to her?

A stifled laugh lurched out of her chest and she folded her arms protectively across her breasts. _'Come on, Kaoru. Kenshin wouldn't like it if he knew what a baby you were being about all of this. He'd expect you to trust him, and you should. He's not going to just set on his butt and do nothing while you rot away in here, don't you know that, you stupid girl? He'll come for you, you know he will. Trust him. You know he'll find you.'_

The thought somewhat comforted her; although, she could not quite shake the feeling of cold trepidation that stayed a close companion at her back. _'Oh Kenshin... please, find me.' _A ragged breath shook her slender shoulders and a short, jerking sob wrenched itself free from her dry throat even as she tried to swallow it. _'Get a grip, Kaoru. Don't fall apart now. If you do, Quii will hear, and God knows what she will do. You can't comfort the both of you, so get a grip on yourself. You know he's going to come. You know that, so just try and hold onto that for now. Hold onto that and remember how much he loves you. Remember he loves you... remember that.'_

"He loves me." She whispered to herself as she wrapped her arms around her shivering body. "Kenshin, I'm in here, Baby. Find me, please find me. Find me before 'he' comes back. Find me before he does... something." Sliding down the wall, Kaoru sat down and pulled her knees up into her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and pressed her forehead down into the crook of her elbow. _'I'll wait, Honey.' _She sent the psychic message with all the willpower she could muster out of her exhausted soul and prayed it would somehow find its way to her beloved. _'I'll wait, but don't make me wait forever. I'm afraid, and it's so dark in here, please hurry... hurry... find me.' _

Then she felt it. The slightest twinge slithering up her spine and tickling along the fine hairs of her forearms. Kaoru clamored to her feet stumbling against the wall in the darkness as she struggled to stand up. Holding her breath, she waited, and waited, and then it came again. Only this time it felt stronger and closer. Her heart was racing in her chest and she began taking short nervous breaths as she struggled to understand 'what' she was feeling. Could it be? Was it? Then, as the sensation passed over her a third time with enough emotional energy and psychic strength to raise the hair on the back of her neck and freeze the air in her lungs, she knew.

"Kenshin?" Her eyes rose heavenward as she strained to see through the darkness. "Are you here?"

"Kaoru?!" The urgency in his voice was only out matched by the darting ferocity of his amber eyes as he ran from room to room, searching for that which he held most dear. "Kaaorruu? Where are you?!" His words seemed to echo and then ricochet off the old stone walls bouncing back to him mocking him with his own anxiety as he kept coming up empty handed. _'Where are you? Kaoru? GOD?' _He pleaded deep within his quaking soul. _'God, if you're up there... help me... please, help me... help me find her... please don't make me live without her again... I can't... I can't... oh help...' _

_ "Edmooonnd..."_ Halfway up the iron staircase, Edmond-Kenshin stopped seemingly frozen in space as the voice drifted up to him-them on the salty sea breeze that blew through the open front door. _"Edmond... Beloooved..." _A low moan of agony and grief slipped free from the lips of the red-haired man as his hand rose to grip the front of his vest while an old almost forgotten pain ravaged through his heart. He knew that voice. He had listened to it in his dreams and nightmares a thousand times over and would know it anywhere. But did he dare turn around and face the owner of that voice? Was he ready to give physical birth to the pain that had eaten away at his soul for 300 years? Was he ready to face Cassandra and the knowledge that he had failed her in the hour of her greatest need? That, he, Edmond Fetlock had abandoned her to the bestial hands of her drunken husband and left her to die that night so long ago when he should have listened to his screaming conscience instead and stayed behind? Was he ready for that? Was he prepared to face the embodiment of his greatest guilt? Could he withstand the pain or would it devour him as he always feared it would?

_"Beelovved..." _The sultry bell-tones drew closer and the hairs on the back of his neck were starting to stand on end as the electrical quality of the air around him began to changed and shift. _"Will you not see me, Edmond?" _Anguish filled violet eyes shut as the mourning presence of pain and loneliness rose from the depths of the turret and tugged at his vitals and at the binding strings of his soul. _"See meee... Edmooondd... see meee..."_ A deep seated groan of grief pushed its way free from his constricted throat and he found himself unable to deny the need any longer. As the presence of Kenshin slipped away into the far reaches of the spirit bond, Edmond bowed his head in deepest humility and submission, and it was he who at last turned around and faced himself toward the bottom of the winding stairwell. With trembling knees, he carefully stepped down until he rounded the turn. A sharp gasp of breath brought his hand up to cover his gapping mouth, and he was halted mid-stride by sight of a woman he had not laid eyes on in three centuries.

Though Kenshin's eyes had beheld her ghost that night inside of the Lighthouse, Edmond's eyes had not seen the face of his Beloved since that fateful day long ago. That terrible day when he had left her standing in the doorway of the Somber Man vowing he would meet her again the next morning, and as his wide violet orbs took in the fragile beauty of the much loved and adored face, he found himself weeping and wanting to rush to her. But she was nothing more than spirit and light, there was nothing for him to hold in his arms. There was no scented throat in which to bury his face, no petal soft lips to kiss, no hands to hold, no silky hair to touch.

She was completely beautiful and totally insubstantial as he gazed upon her haunted eyes and serene face. Still wearing the white nightdress and pale rose dressing gown that she had died in, though she was not the bruised and battered creature Kenshin and Kaoru had gazed upon in horror and pity. Instead, the glossy waist length of her ebony hair was draped over her right shoulder woven into a loose braid and tied at the end with a small blue ribbon. Her flawless face was as smooth and beautiful as any Angel, and her clothing appeared almost new without tear or stain.

In death, Cassandra O'Malley's innocent spirit had been restored to her previous beauty, and as she raised clear sapphire blue eyes to gaze upon the man she had loved more than life, she raised her arms and beckoned him back to her side. _"Edmond. My dearest love. You've come home."_

"Sandra..." His voice was broken and filled with a deep longing as he haltingly approached her translucent visage. "My beautiful, beautiful Sandra... how my eyes have missed your pretty face and my arms longed to hold you close, my dearest heart." How he wanted to kneel at her feet and hide his face in the softness of her breasts while his arms crushed the willowy slimness of her against him, but there was nothing to hold, nothing to embrace. Only the faintest scent of roses and sea salt surrounded her and he mentally glombed onto that small physical proof that she was in any way real.

But as Edmond's eyes caressed the delicate features of the beloved visage, he found he was unable to stop himself from trying to touch her. Lifting a trembling hand, he tried to trace the line of her perfect face while she gazed up into his eyes with the wide sapphire pools of her eyes. "How much I have missed you..." He whispered as his fingers passed through the essence of her cheek and tears slipped down his face. "Still so beautiful... so utterly beautiful and sweet... my Sandra."

_"Edmond, my own Beloved,"_ The deep blue pools of her eyes filled with the enormity of her love and the wispy image of her hand rose to pass over his face as she tried in desperation to touch him and wipe the wetness off his cheek. But she was as thwarted in touching him as he had been trying to touch her. Her hand passed through the flesh of his face without stopping and pulling it free, she stared at it as if it belonged to someone else.

A look of profound sadness settled upon her delicate features as she realized they would not be able to touch each other as they were. Love it seemed was not enough to transcend the worlds of the living and limbo. _"Fate is cruel." _She whispered as her eyes filled with tears and she lifted her face to see the pain she felt reflected just as deeply in his beautiful violet gaze.

"Yes, it is." He spoke in a hushed and reverent tone as he looked down at the one thing he had loved more than life, and wished not for the first time that he had been able to follow where she went so they could have been together. "I would have given almost anything just to have touched you once more..." The breath caught in his throat, and he closed his eyes sending more wetness down his tortured face. "To have said good-bye... to have begged your forgiveness... I am so sorry, Sandra... so damn sorry." His head drooped and a hand lifted to cover his face as a harsh sob tore its way free from his chest. "I should have come back sooner... I should have listened to my own instincts and come back... I never should have left you here alone... oh God... I never..."

_"Hush, my Love." _The tenderness of her sweet voice reached out and caressed his heart as she sought to comfort him in his grief and guilt the only way she could. _"I told you to go... I said I would be fine... I made you leave... if you had stayed, he would have killed us both." _

"I know," Edmond raised a ragged grief-stricken face to her. "But if he had, then maybe I could have gotten to be with you... maybe we could have been together all this time... maybe... maybe we wouldn't of had to be so alone for so long. I couldn't live without you." He cried and tried to reach for her but his hands passed through her form and they both stood mute unable to do anything but stare at the emptiness between them. "I loved you so bloody much... I couldn't live without you."

_"I know..." _Tears poured down her face as she looked at his hands and the long lonely ache of the past years without him rose to seize her heart inflicting more pain than she could bear. _"I-I couldn't move on without you..." _Their eyes met and locked for and eternity and the love that they had shared burned as brightly between them as it had the first night they had met.

_"That is why I'm still here."_

The purest and truest loves never die. They simmer and smolder through the ages waiting for the moment when Time will once more breath Life back into them giving them another chance to taste the joy of being reunited. They wait to be renewed, to be reborn, but they do not wait patiently. They burn.

"We have another chance at life, Sandra... you and I." Edmond's voice was filled with the same spirits of hope and yearning that had lived with him his whole life, and Cassandra heard echos of the past ringing in that single sentence. Edmond could see she did not understand what his meanings were so he rushed forward to try and explain. "Our souls have been reborn, my love. Yours, mine... and Daniel's. Each of our souls has been brought back to this time and given a new body. Our spirits remain our own, but the soul of us has been reborn within another. Do you know of what I speak?" Slowly comprehension filled her eyes and she slowly nodded her head.

_"Kaoru..." _She spoke the name hesitantly. _"The girl your Kenshin was looking for. She looks just like me... I saw her." _An odd look passed over the spirits face as she gazed intently into her lovers large violet eyes trying to come to grips with what must be the truth. _"Is she... is she ME?"_

"Yes, Beloved." Violet eyes filled with so much hope and entreaty searched the pale visage of the spirit before him. "I am reborn in the body of this young boy, Kenshin... and Daniel in the body of that animal, Hiko... we are all here again, Sandra. All three of us."

_"Why Edmond? Why are we all here again?" _Cassandra began to look panicked as her gazed shifted toward the living quarters where they both knew Daniel resided for the moment, and then back to the face of her lover. _"What is meant to happen that fate has brought us all here again?"_

"I am not completely sure, but I think it may be because I am being given the chance to save you, and Daniel is being given the chance to reclaim whatever honor is left in him." Edmond shook his head in frustration. "But I really can't say. If the truth be told, I would just as soon not fight him, but just rescue the girls and be done with it."

_"The girls...?" _The expression on her face became thoughtful and then insightful. _"You came seeking Kaoru and the other girl... you did not expect to see me... did you?" _

"_'Kenshin' _came looking for the girls." He corrected her gently. "I did not expect to be '_me_' or even be here... I did not expect any of this. I only wanted to save..." He paused, shook his head, and started again. "'_Kenshin'_ wanted to save _'his' _beloved before history repeated itself. At least those are the impressions I was able to gather from his mind. I was not even involved until he walked through the front door, and then it seems Fate and Time took control of everything. _We... _He and I, no longer had any choices in the matter."

Cassandra stared into her Lovers face for what seemed an eternal moment, and Edmond could see her mind trying desperately to make sense of everything that was going on around them. Her gaze grew hard, and her lips thinned as she struggled with the intricacies and nuances of the situation, and then she turned away from his and moved several feet away.

"What?" He asked as he followed in her stead. "What are you thinking? Tell me."

_"It was a mistake." _She said in a strange voice. _"It was all a terrible mistake. It wasn't supposed to happen that way. He wasn't supposed to...it was a terrible mistake."_

"What are you going on about, Sandra?" Edmond walked around the muttering spirit so he could face her. "What do you mean, 'it was a mistake.'? What was a mistake? Talk to me, Sandra, what was a mistake?"

Suddenly she was looking at him with wild eyes gone wide with alarm and comprehension. _"Your young Kenshin is right. You have to save Kaoru... you have to save her, and save me. If all of this is to be put to an end, we both have to survive, you and I. We were not meant to die, Edmond... we were never meant to die!" _

As he stared into her earnest and frantic face, Edmond struggled to ascertain what she was trying to tell him, but it just was not making sense. What did she mean, they both had to survive? That neither of them was meant to die? It was all a terrible mistake? _'What the hell... no one is ever really meant to die, are they?' _

_ "Don't you understand?" Her voice rose to a near hysterical point as she desperately tried to get through to him. "Daniel wasn't meant to take our lives. We were not meant to die back then. We were supposed to be together, and he was supposed to leave and go on his way. None of us are supposed to be here like this, we had lives to live 300 years ago, but Daniel's bloody drunk rage took them away... from all three of us. When he took our lives and the life of our child, he upset the balance of Time, and we have all been brought back to this place to make it right again. Edmond?" _She shouted at him as all the blooddrained from his face while the cohesion of her statements' finally connected inside of his befuddled mind. _"Edmond? Do you hear me? Do you understand? You have to save Kaoru and this boy. We can't let Daniel win again. We can't let him kill us again. We can't."_

"It will never happen. I won't let it. Not this time." Edmond spoke in a quiet eerie voice that sounded of dread and doom as his head drooped down to his chest effectively obscuring his face from view. Closing his eyes he pushed himself into a level of concentration that shut everything out except the sound of his own heart beat and the sensation of the breath moving in and out of his lungs. Diving deep into himself, he reached for something that was only a distant memory for him, but a reality to Kenshin. Something he had only dreamed about in the past. Something that was unspeakable.

Several intense moments of deafening silence screamed through the turret, and then he opened his eyes and raised his head. Cassandra's spirit gasped and covered her mouth even as she moved away from him several feet.

_"Ed-edmond?"_

"Not anymore." The burning amber gold eyes of Kaoru's Angel-wolf gleamed malevolently from beneath the shaggy red bangs that perpetually hung in his eyes, and the look of raging fury that glittered within their roiling depths promised retribution for past sins and transgressions heaped upon the innocent. But instead of the out of control angry beast that Kenshin had difficulty keeping in check, this beast was all taut muscle and icy resolve. This was the final form, the finished product.

The Avenging Angel in its purest form, and it had a task that needed doing. A task that was 300 years in the making, and it was time to be done with it.

_"Who... what...?"_

"I am the beast that lives within Kenshin's soul. I am that which has been created from his pain, his anger, his fear. I am his demon spirit and my roots lie buried deep within his soul. Deep enough to reach into the past and touch the grief and pain of the one who came before us. He was the beginning. He was the source that planted the seed of my creation."

_"You're talking about Edmond, aren't you?"_

"Yes. His is the source. It is from his torn and broken soul that my form was first concieved, but it is Kenshin's heart that brought me into physical being. He needed me to protect those he loved."

_"Protect? Protect them from whom?"_

"His false father, Hiko. Hiko the abuser. Hiko the drunken tyrant. Hiko, the would-be murderer. Hiko, the enemy." The voice was flat, but there was an underlying edge of hatred that could not be denied and Cassandra shivered. "Hiko, the devil and the releaser of destruction."

_"Hiko? Hiko was Kenshin's father?" _Cassandra reeled at the revelation of that piece of information. _"But Hiko is Daniel. If Hiko is Daniel and Kenshin is Edmond, and he called on you to protect his family... Oh dear God. What sort of horrors have you endured in this life, my love? What has he done to you? What has he done that you would have to create a demon to protect yourself and the rest of your family from him?"_

"He was the false father. Not a blood father, and his fists were the tools of his communication. I was created out of necessity because it was easier for me to fight him than it was for the younger ones... or for Kenshin's mother. It was my place to protect them. My humble duty. My honorable purpose. Just as I must protect you and the girls now. It is why I am here now, why the source of all things has called upon me to come."

_"Edmond?" _Cassandra looked hard at the Angel-wolf as she struggled with the complexity of three separate entities now inhabiting the body that stood so stoically before her. Could it be? Had Edmond truly conceived such a being in his mind after finding out what Daniel had done to her? Had her sweet mild tempered lover with the perpetual boyish smile and laughing violet eyes created such a beast as this to channel all of his anger, rage, and pain into when he could no longer bear it on his own? And then this boy, Kenshin, growing up beneath the fist of an abusive step-father whose body was inhabited by the soul of a man who hated him more than hell hated any Angel? How much more of this Avenger had his pain and anguish created? What had the Fates done bringing them all back here knowing that this 'beast' now resided along side the gentle soul of Edmond Fetlock? Did they not realize that more bloodshed was not the answer? Cassandra felt as if the world was tilted on its axis and threatening to spin off. _'T'would be better if it exploded and killed us all before anything else happens.' _She thought as she gazed into those great gleaming golden orbs. _'Nothing good came come from this.' ___

_"You are telling me that Edmond called you here?"_

"Yes. I am here at his bequest." At that moment Cassandra was favored with a low snarl of carefully controlled fury as it slithered from between his lips, and she watched with apprehension as his left hand dropped to grasp the hilt of his katana. "Do you know where he is keeping the girl, My Lady?" He asked with strained respect as his patience began to wear thin. "Time is working against us, and neither Kenshin nor Edmond has been able to find them, so if you have any knowledge as to where Daniel has taken them, I humbly ask that you tell me."

_"Yes,' _She nodded and turned from him. _"I know where they are." _Motioning for him to follow her as she made her way back down the stairway, the ghost spoke solemnly over her shoulder . _" Come with me and I will take you there." _He offered a short nod, and then with a speed that stunned the red-haired Angel-wolf, the ghost flew down the stairs and across the main floor of the Lighthouse in a streak of multicolored light particles and dancing rainbows. He was forced to use all of his strength and speed to keep up with her. It was imperative that he not lose track of her lest he become lost and fail in his task.

They wove a pattern through the lower level of the living quarters and then through the kitchen and dining area. The Angel-wolf was forced to stop and open a door or two on the way which he found frustrating. The ghost simply passed through them without a thought. The last door he was forced to open led outside and revealed a well-trodden foot path that lead around to the backside of the building. Grasping the hilt of his sword tightly, the Angel-wolf took the path at a swift jog careful to lean away from the sharp drop-off on his left. It was a clean fall down to the rocks and the sea about 100 ft or so. He didn't care to find out exactly so he watched his footing.

The path took a sharp right handed turn at the corner and the Angel-wolf found himself looking at an old wooden door with a plank dropped across its center for a lock.

_"Here." _The soft voice at his shoulder seemed to come from no where as Cassandra's ethereal body could not be seen in the harsh light of the Sun, but her words were easily discernable. _'They are in here." _Once more he thanked her with a short nod and then went to work removing the plank. It came free easily and he yanked the door open without difficulties.

A long stone stairway disappeared down into musty darkness, and the Angel-wolf knew he needed some sort of a light if he was going to be able see his way through. He cast his sharp gaze about the area searching for anything that might be useful when he eyed something that had been carefully hidden beneath the edges of a rough bush. Kneeling down he reached beneath the prickly edges and pulled the black toolbox free. _'This belongs to Hiko.' _The subdued part of his mind that belonged to Kenshin recognized the item immediately as belonging to his step-father. _'He always carries it in the trunk of his car. I wonder what it's doing here?' _The Angel-wolf unlatched the lid and opened the box slowly. Inside he found tools including screwdrivers, wrenches, a small hammer, and... a flashlight? _'Perfect. Thanks old man.'_

Pressing the on/off switch, he checked to see if the batteries were still good and grunted in satisfaction when the light came on casting a bright beam. _'Strange,' _The Edmond entity mused thoughtfully. _'It would seem the past and the present are co-existing harmoniously within the same time frame. I wonder how that is possible?' _

_ 'Don't question it, Ed." _Kenshin spoke to his alter self. _"Let's just be glad that it's working out that way, otherwise we might be in real trouble at the moment.'_

_'How so?'_

_ 'You know how to use that sword you're wearing, man?'_

_ 'Well, now that you mention it, no. That was you that smacked Daniel wasn't it?'_

_ 'It sure as hell wasn't you, buddy. Have you ever even held one of those in your hand?'_

_ 'No, can't say that I have. But I was a crack shot with a pistol. How about you?'_

_ 'Nah, never had any use for a gun. Didn't like them.'_

_ 'I guess that makes us even, yes?'_

_ 'Got me there, Ed. I can't use a gun and you can't use a sword. I guess we'll just have to do this thing together. What'd you say?'_

_ 'My thoughts exactly, but what about 'him'?'_

_ ''Him'? Oh, you mean this guy whose walking around wearing us at the moment_? _Looks_ _like to me between the two of us we got control over him. Maybe that's the whole idea. You think?'_

___ 'Excellent notion, Kenshin my boy. Perhaps that is why he's been here all along, so we could work through him. He is better at this kind of thing than both of us. You do know this, don't you?'_

_ 'Of course, I taught him almost everything he knows, and you gave him the will to survive. Sounds to me like he's practically invincible, or at least damn close to it. Especially with us pulling the strings.'_

_'I agree. Shall we?'_

_ 'What?'_

_ 'Go get the girls, you duffer. Don't you remember anything longer than ten minutes? I was under the impression you were quite the genius, but it certainly doesn't appear so.'_

_ 'Hey, stow it pretty boy, and next time you ask me to do something, fucking make yourself clear. I don't speak 'suave', got it?'_

_ 'Absolutely. Cave men are walking upon the earth again.'_

_ 'Shut-up and lets go. You're wasting time.'_

_ 'Of course.'_

_ 'Geeeeez... are you sure I'm really you?'_

_ 'Yes, why do you ask?'_

_ 'It's embarrassing. I didn't know I was such a stuffy tight ass. If the guys knew, they'd never let me live it down.'_

_ 'What? I don't...'_

_ 'Nevermind, shut-your mouth and let's go. We're wasting precious time. Daniel isn't going to be out of commission forever, you know.'_

_ 'Quite.'_

_ 'Arrrgggh...'_

The glazed look finally left the glimmering golden eyes, and the Angel-wolf roughly shook his head as he attempted to clear the jumbled chaos of thoughts crowding his mind. _'Did I just have a conversation with myself?' _He wondered in confused bewilderment and worry, but quickly cast the disturbing idea away as ridiculous as he turned back to the stone steps. The beam of the flashlight burned brightly as it illuminated the first ten feet of darkness. _'Excellent.' _He started down carefully watching each step as he went.

The stairway took two sharp right angle turns before he reached the bottom, and once there he was presented with another puzzle. He stood inside of a small 6 ft by 6 ft room which held a small bed, a table with a lamp, and an old ragged woven rug laid out on the dirt floor. It was otherwise empty and held no other doors or windows. He was at a dead end.

_"Lift the rug, Edmond." _Cassandra's ghost appeared at his side adding her luminescent quality to the lighting of the small room as she stood pointing downward at the ragged article. _"Lift the rug, there is a door beneath it. Lift the rug and open the door."_

The Angel-wolf carefully placed the flashlight on the small table, and then knelt down to remove the old rug. Sure enough, beneath it there was a wooden trapdoor built into the floor. It held no locks or braces, and the red-haired man found this slightly disturbing. _'Why isn't it secured?' _Wiggling his fingers beneath one of the edges, he applies enough strength and pressure to lift the door open. It revealed a dark hole.

Retrieving his flashlight from the table, the Angel-wolf pointed the beam downward into the inky blackness and gasped as shock and incredulity struck him at the same time. It was a pit. A large hole that had been dug into the ground ages before probably by a previous Lamp Master, but one that came long after Edmond had passed because he had no memories of this place.

The pit appeared to be about ten or twelve feet deep and approximately fifteen feet around though the shape was quite irregular. The walls had been shored up and mortared with granite bricks all the way around, but the floor remained nothing more than bare dirt. The musty odor that escaped told the tale of just how moist it was inside indicating there was a water source that must be leaking in all of the time keeping it in a constant state of damp and cold. And where there was a water leak there must also be an air exchange.

'It's a root cellar." He spoke in a low-toned voice as he continued to inspect the construction of the pit. "And quite a good one at that. I suppose that explains why there is not lock on the door. It didn't need one." Letting the light carefully follow the walls all the way around, he began to methodically search the pit for signs of the girls. Suddenly he stopped as the light caught the sheen of bright turquoise. _'Quii's dress!' _Leaning a little farther into the opening, he focused the light on that flash of color and strained to make out the shape that was huddled up on the floor.

"Quii..." He called in a loud voice. "Quii Saitou, is that you? Can you hear me?" He strained his ears into the silence trying to listen for even the slightest sound when he heard a scuffling rustle just off to his right.

"Kenshin? Kenshin, is that you?" The voice sounded tired and near tears. It sounded weary and desolate. It sounded anxious and hopeful. He swung the light toward the sound. That was when he saw her. She was standing up against the wall, her palm flat against the stones, her hair in complete disarray, her white dress smudged with dirt and torn at the shoulder, but it was her face that caught and held his attention.

Her face was still covered with her Halloween make-up, and the black cowl around her eyes was smeared down her cheeks like black tears upon the palest of cheeks. Her enormous blue eyes were blown wide open and filled with entreaty, with fear, with courage, with hope, and with... trust? _'She knew he would come. She knew.'_

"We are here, Kaoru. Everything is going to be all right now. We will find a way to get you and Quii out of here. Just try to stay calm." He watched her nod in wide eyed affirmation and then he was pulling back and looking around the small room for some thing to use to get them out. "Dammit! How did he get them down there?"

_"Here..." _Cassandra was motioning toward the bed and indicating he should pull the mattress off. _"He hides it under there. He doesn't think anyone would ever think to look there, so that is where he puts it."_

The Angel-wolf grabbed the old thin mattress and yanked it viciously off the rickety wooden frame tossing it into one of the empty corners of the room. There carefully tucked away beneath the disgusting bed was a brand new adjustable aluminum ladder. _'You fucking animal.' _Kenshin's entity raised its head and snarled as the golden eyes looked upon the very modern means of entering and exiting the deep pit. _'You let Daniel lead you into town and you bought that bloody thing, didn't you? You bought it just before the dance. You bought it and stuffed it into this hole he must have found, and then the two of you came back to the school and snatched the girls. Quii was a mistake, but you didn't care. You let him take her anyway. You disgusting weak-minded ape. Didn't you have enough strength over your own mind to see what he was doing, or was it that you just didn't give a shit? Was that it, old man? You just didn't give a damn because it felt so good to be whole again? You make me sick. You've always made me sick. Well, this time you lose. You can't have her, and you can't have me either. You just ran out of time, asshole. Today is judgement day, and I'm Judge, Jury, and Executioner, and it's time you paid for what you've done. BOTH of you.'_

The ladder was seized in furious hands and then dropped without preamble into the pit the two halves locking together to form a solid fifteen foot stairway to freedom for the two incarcerated girls.

"Kaoru?" He shouted down into the hole as he grabbed his flashlight and shined it down into the darkness. "Grab Quii and let's get the hell out of here, girl. The two of you have been down in this fucking hole long enough. Come on!" The beam of light caught a flurry of movement and he heard the muffled cries of excited surprise coming from the younger girl as Kaoru shook her awake and began dragging her across the damp floor.

"Come on, Quii. Kenshin's here and he's got a ladder from somewhere so we can get out of here." She was pulling roughly on the slender arm of the girl and she heard a few squeaks of protest but she ignored them. Kenshin was here just like she had known he would be, and she was out of here dragging Quii every step of the way if she had to. "Come on, dammit! Before Mr. Siejuro comes back."

"I'm coming. Stop pulling on me, Kaoru. I can stand on my own, dammit. Let go." The hand that held her in such a strangling grip abruptly released her, and Quii stumbled wildly almost falling down. At the last moment she caught herself and breathed a sigh of relief over the fact that she had avoided eating anymore dirt, and then she sent a glare of frustration at the back of the older girl. _'Impatient.' _

By that time, Kaoru was beyond caring if Quii made it up the ladder or not. Her only goal was to reach the man who was kneeling at the top of the ladder. His arms were the only place she wanted to get to, and as she scrambled up the ladder she was almost certain that her wildly beating heart was going to beat her to them. But then she was crawling over the edge and he was there waiting for her. His arms opened up to her and she scampered into them releasing a sob of relief when she felt their strength close around her crushing her against the hard rock of his chest.

"Kenshin!" She cried as she burrowed into the warmth of his throat her arms reaching around his torso clinging to him like a leech. "I knew you'd come. I knew you would."

"Everything is all right now, Baby." He breathed tenderly into her hair as one of his hands gently cupped the back of her head. "I'm here and everything is going to be all right. I promise I won't ever let anything happen to you. I will always love you, and I will always protect you. Nothing in this world can ever pull me away from your side, my sweet Kaoru. Nothing." She shuddered in his arms and curled even closer to him.

"I love you." She whispered pressing soft kisses against his neck. "Nothing could ever pull me away from you either." And then she leaned back away from him so she could see his face.

The moment of truth was upon them all.

Quii crawled over the edge of the hole and turned toward her benefactor so she could thank him, but she froze where she sat her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide with shock. "What the hell?"

Kaoru stared in silence into the beloved face before her seeing a multitude of things written upon the handsome taut features. She saw her beloved Kenshin shift subtly past as his overwhelming relief and love reached out and embraced her telling her how afraid he had been that he had failed her. That he had lost her. That he would never see her or hold her again. She also saw her precious Angel-wolf with his skittish wariness lurking inside the liquid golden orbs that gazed so intently upon her face, but she also saw more. She saw something, or someone inside those eyes and upon that face which she had never seen before.

As she regarded the complex being before her, Kaoru's mind began to drift back to the conversation she'd had with Quii about reincarnation, Fate, and Time, and as she studied the beloved face, an idea occurred to her. It was a startling and frightening idea, but it was the only feasible explanation she had for what she was seeing in front of her. She cleared her throat and then spoke in a carefully controlled voice.

"Edmond?" She asked in precise succinct tone as she gazed thoughtfully into those gleaming golden eyes. "Are you there?" A slow nod of his head and then the hint of a smile followed her question, and Kaoru caught her breath. "All _three_ of you are in there?"

"Three of us?" He cocked his head to the side and regarded her with humble respect. "I was not aware you knew about 'him'."

"Oh yes, I have seen and met 'him' before." She nodded and reached out to caress the much loved face. "'He' is unstable and has difficulty trusting those around him. 'He' fears much, but will brave anything to protect the ones he loves. 'He' is fierce, proud, and honorable. There is much about 'him' that I love just as much as I love Kenshin."

"You are a remarkable young girl then Kaoru. For I would have never dared 'show him' to my Cassandra for fear 'he' would have frightened her and drove her away."

"You underestimate her, Edmond. Love knows many faces, and loves them all."

"Perhaps. But 'he' did not come to pass until after she was gone. 'He' became because of her passing and the pain and grief I suffered because of it. 'He' is the sum of my rage and guilt as well as my sadness." He captured her hand and brought it to his lips where he pressed a gentle kiss into her palm. "'He' is also the sum of all of Kenshin's rage, pain, and fear. Between us, he and I have created a Beast of tremendous strength, but 'he' is constructed out of rage. 'He' is more abomination than anything else."

"I don't believe that." Kaoru forced the Edmond entity to look at her and she locked gazes with him despite his trepidation. "Sometimes there is such a thing as 'righteous rage', Edmond, and that is something that comes from a higher power than any of us know. 'He' is not a Beast, nor is 'he' an abomination. 'He' is the tool by which those things that were unjustly destroyed so long ago will be made right again. Surely you must see that?" The golden eyes dimmed to their natural violet for the briefest moments, and then they burst forth into the most brilliant glow of liquid amber any of them had ever seen. The small room began to glow softly as the light cast from the tri-enties eyes began to create a light of their own.

Kaoru and Quii gasped in unison, and then squeaked in surprised fear as the shimmering form of Cassandra's spirit appeared before them. She stood next to the tri-entity and as the golden glow continued to fill the small room, her body began to take on a much more substantial quality until she appeared to be quite human. Her cheeks were flushed, her small feet were dirty, and her chest rose and fell with each breath she took.

Everyone in the tiny room froze.

"Kaoru," Cassandra held her hand out to the shocked girl. "Come here, and let me see you." A slow almost imperceptible nod of assent was given, and Kaoru rose to her feet and stepped over to the other woman, and as they stood face to face, both Quii and the tri-entity stared in astonishment. They were a perfect likeness for each other. It was a mirror image looking back for each of them. "We are one and the same, Kaoru."

"I know." The young girl replied as she reached out and touched the all to real cheek of the ghost.

"I think if we are to accomplish what has to be done here today, we have to be whole. That means we have to be together inside the same body."

"I think so too." Kaoru met the dark blue gaze so identical to her own. "I think I have to be you so that you can face Daniel again. I'm thinking that is what this is all really about anyway. The three of you confronting each other again, out here in this place, and putting right what happened that night. I don't think you were supposed to die, were you?"

"No, I don't think so. I think we were all supposed to go on with our lives, even Daniel, but when he murdered Edmond and I, he destroyed the fabric of all three of our lives. Now, it has to be fixed."

"I understand... I think. Kenshin and I are supposed to be together too, aren't we?"

"Of course. You're us." Kaoru smiled and nodded and then the two woman took each other by the hand and stepped forward. What happened next was something Quii would never forget, not for the rest of her life. The image of Cassandra stepped over and into the body of Kaoru, and as the features of her face settled into the perfect match of her soul's body, Kaoru's dirty white dress and smudged Halloween make-up disappeared. They were replaced with Cassandra's white nightdress and rose dressing gown. Her hair smoothed out and became a loose braid hanging over her shoulder, the end tied with a blue ribbon. Her shoes disappeared, leaving behind small bare feet dirty from the damp floor. Only the eyes stayed the same. Enormous dark pools of liquid sapphire blue.

Kaoru was gone. She had disappeared somewhere deep into the back reaches of the mind she now shared with Cassandra.

"Edmond!" She cried as her hands rose to touch the warm flesh of her face. "Edmond, I'm real!" The man kneeling on the floor rose abruptly to his feet and flew to her side in a split instant his eyes staring into her flushed and excited face.

"Sandra?" He croaked as he lifted an apprehensive hand. "Is it true?"

"Yes," She whispered as tears filled her eyes and began slipping down her face. "It is true. Feel me." Her fingers reached out and wrapped around his wrist pulling his fearful hand forward to touch the warm flesh of her cheek. "I'm real. We're both real."

A choked sob escaped his tight throat as he felt the softness of her flesh beneath his hand. "Oh God... Sandra, my beautiful Sanda." The next moment he was covering her lips with his in a frantic kiss that brought a whimpering sob of response from her as her arms wrapped around his waist and then reached up to grip his shoulders.

Quii could do nothing but sit and gape at the scene before her. Both of her friends it seemed were no longer in possession of their bodies, or at least not entirely so. But, what was happening seemed to be the right thing and she felt a lump of emotion swelling up in her throat as she watch the long lost lovers hug, kiss, and cry over each other. _'They've been apart for 300 years. I guess a little body snatching isn't such a big deal. I don't think Kenshin or Kaoru would really mind, besides, they're in love with each other too, so it's not like they wouldn't be doing the same thing if it was the two of them who were in the same situation.' _She nodded and scooted over to retrieve the flashlight. They were going to have to be leaving soon, she knew that as she cast a hesitant glance up the stairs, but another backward glance over her shoulder confirmed the couple were still firmly locked within each others embrace. _'I guess we can wait a little while longer... it can't hurt anything to give them just a little more time.' _She giggled quietly and sat down on one of the lower steps cupping her chin in her hand. _'They've waited long enough to be together, I'd say, they deserve a few more minutes. But then we really got to get out of here.'_

__

__

Upstairs inside the living quarters Daniel was starting to shake off the tremendous blow Kenshin had delivered upon his body, and although his head was still swimming, he could feel the old rage starting to brew down in the pit of his belly once more.

"You better run and hide you fucking brat." He snarled as Hiko shifted to the surface for a moment. "It'll be a cold day in Hell before you get the best of this old man. There aren't any Cops or witnesses around this time to keep me from tearing your fucking head off, so you better run and hide, because daddy's coming after your ass, and ain't nobody going to stop me this time. Nobody."

****

_**Psychotic-catster:** __OMG!!! You're the first ONE! I think Cleo surprised everyone in this chapter, so you weren't alone kiddo. Thanks for your concern about my health. I am feeling much better. God Bless, Sweetling. Hope you liked this chapter tool. ._

_**Half-breed-demon-fox:** I so love that name. Reminds me of Inuyasha and Youko all at the same time. Weird, huh? I'm pleased you love the story. I hope you still do. God Bless._

_**Sick Galaxy:** A glow in the Dark Star?? So cool! I used to have a whole bunch of those when I was a kid. Little decal things I stuck on my walls and ceiling. They were awesome! Like being in space... lol. It's easy to please small minds in small bodies. I liked whacking Hiko/Daniel with the sheath too. I reaaaally enjoyed it. God Bless, kid. See ya soon._

_**Catti-dono:** I know I mean with the cliffies. But this one wasn't too bad actually. I took care of a lot of business, so you can't complain too loudly. And btw, thanks for the concern and the advice of your recent e-mails. I think I will go back to my Chiropractor. It's worth a shot, who knows. Anything that will get me at least back to base line of six months ago is better than where I am right now. God Bless, shin-yuu. Much love. Tuski_

_**JD Fielding:** Ahhh, My dear young friend. I enjoyed restructuring the lighthouse. That's one of those really cool special effects that they do in Sci-fi and mystery/horror/ghost movies that just freaks me out and totally fascinates me. I'd actually love to see it really happen... Just once, get caught up in the shift of the space-time continuum and enter the world of a past life. That would sound really funky crazy if I didn't actually believe in past lives, but I do._

_And the fight between Edmond/Kenshin and Daniel/Hiko isn't over yet. Just thought I'd let you know. The sheath blow... just the beginning. And remember... Saitou is still on his way with the rest of the Fam-damly. It's gonna be wild... if I can just get it out of my head. Take care, dear friend. See you soon._

_**Steph:** I know you don't like my cliffies. But there is this evil streak in me that just demands I preform torturous acts of some kind... lol. This cliffies wasn't as bad as some I've done in the past, though. I cleaned up a lot of loose ends before I shut things down. So you shouldn't have too much to complain about. - Part of me really wanted to cut Hiko/Daniel in half... but, then the story would have been over, so I restrained myself. But it was a warm and fuzzy thought for quite a few minutes there. wink_

_**Kagura:** Ahh, my lovely friend, Kagura. Yes, yes... we all shudder when Daniel/Hiko starts talking about Kaoru/Cassandra in a possessive manner. Just makes the flesh want to slither right off your bones. shudders But then... its supposed to. - As for the image of Edmond/Kenshin threatening Hiko with Kaoru... I laughed my ass off. That was damn funny. Thanks for the mental. Bless you._

_**Rain angst:** oooogh... cabin's growing flowers now... - Glad you're still loving the story. God Bless._

_**November Dusk:** Saitou is involved simply because Kenshin asked him to be, and because both Quii and Ruakii are at the Lighthouse. He knows about the 'past' because Kenshin put the details in the note he left. If you read the scene where he and Tokio are in the kitchen talking about the note, both of them refer to what Kenshin wrote about ghosts and stuff. Also because of Cleo when she joined them and dropped the bomb of past-life memories about the couple who were meant to be her parents but never were, and their relationship to Kenshin._

_Thanks for your concern about me. I am feeling much better. Hopefully that is a good sign and things are on the up and up. I have definitely had enough of the feeling like crap crap._

_**Lere:** Lere, beautiful, lere. I know your life has been chaos. You warned me about that in one of your last letters. I knew your finals were coming up and you would be studying like a crazy woman. I understand. I know you still love me, and you should know I will always love you. You're my touchstone._

_I'm glad you loved the chapter, and I'm pleased I surprised you with Cleo. Everyone was surprised. -. I hope you liked this chapter as well. It was a beastie._

_I am hoping and praying for you, dear one, that all is well with you, and that finals are done and over by now. I know you will be fine and that you did fine. I have perfect faith in you. God Bless, my shin-yuu._

_**Polaris-fire-star:** __Thank you for your concerns and worries. I am feeling better. Hope you're not still mad... this cliffie wasn't as bad as some I have left... It was just a so-so cliffie. LOLOL God Bless, my friend._

_**Roku-chan:** Roxie-chan!! OH, I loved the story you sent me! It was very... hentai. WoWsers! Wicked, wicked!_

_Anyway... I am feeling better... and my stress is coming back down. Thank heavens. I was definitely getting tired of feeling like crap. My empathy to your father. Playing the seizure game it the pits. No one should have to do it._

_I hope you like this chapter. I don't know about being an inspiration, sweetie... but I do know that you have a lot of talent to write all on your own. It's been good to chat with you again, and know that you're doing so well. Take care my love, hope to talk to you soon. Mom_

_**Kuroi Tamashii:** A giant monkey animal, eh? LOLOL Squishy monkey attack? Geez, you sound like my son's. LOLOL... next thing I know I'll be hearing, "Gooey monkey brains splatter on the wall as old woman falls prey to deadly squishy monkey assault... film at 11:00!" HEHEHEHEHE And yes, I am feeling better, and I'm glad you like the story enough to 'demand' an update plus threaten me with your 'wrath'. Are you sure your not one of my sons??? Last night the three of them were on-line and actually found a website that was anything and everything you ever wanted to know about 'poop'. Now, what's up with that? God, boys are funny... I don't think I'd know what to do with a girl. LOLOL _

_**Kean:** I hear what you are saying. I knew the chapter was not up to my usual standards. But between the writers block and the seizure, it was a wonder I wrote anything at all. My brain was pretty much a bowl of mushy oatmeal by then, but I felt obligated to try and do something for my readers. I was actually glad it turned out as good as it did, but I knew it didn't have the depth of feeling and characterization that I'm known for... I just wasn't up to it. _

_I'm glad you were understanding of why the chapter wasn't up to par. Oddly, you were the only one who noticed, or at least had the where with all to point it out. I thought more people would say something. But you were the only one. I was really quite shocked about that. Actually, I deeply appreciate your honesty. Thank you. God Bless._

_**Lendra-chan:** Alendra-chan... I have not had the chance to read your new story, honey, but I promise I will try to get to it. I see you have been updating it like crazy so I am waaaaaaaaaay far behind. Gomen, sweetie. I will get to it as soon as I can. I didn't know you lived in Maine. That is my favorite state. If I ever had my choice of places I could move to, that is where I would go. It is right there close to New York. I think the weather is almost the same. Since 'Bad Kid' is set in NY... have I written the weather and landscapes fairly accurate??_

_Thanks for kind words on this chapter. You're so sweet. And thanks for the fire-work. It was cute. :)_

_I hope you had a good 4th. I spent mine in bed. But I am feeling much better now days. I hope that means things are on the upswing for me. God bless, sweet girl. Tsuki_

_**xia xue:** Yes, you're on time!! Whoo hoo!! You are so funny... you make me laugh every time. :) What are you staying up til 1-2 in the morning to play?? Is it a good game?? I love video games... so what is it? I wanna know if I have it or not. wink Thanks for the review. Glad your still lovin' it. God Bless kiddo. Take care._

_**Lyger Yuy:** Glad you like the story. Hope you liked this chapter, and thanks for you concern about my health. I'm getting better. God Bless. See ya soon._

_**BelleDayNight:** Belle, Belle, Belle.... I am going to read 'Heart of a Wolf' today as well as the new 'Angel' clip you sent me. I swear, you are one of the most 'idea' prolific authors I ever met. :) And your stuff is so damn good too._

_Glad you liked the chapter. Tried to make it as interesting as possible by bringing in the twists I'd been planning. Looks like I twisted everybody up right along with them. That's the fun part about being the author... but then, you already know that. I hope you liked this chapter too. It got long while I was writing it. It just kept coming and coming. Haven't had that happen for a while. Felt good for a change. There are more confrontations to come... God Bless, Belle. Take care, dear friend. Arigato._

_**Luraia Soul:** Awesome is good. And I'm glad you loved it. It's the story that takes the most 'out' of me to write. I hope you liked this chapter to. It really took a lot out of me, but I enjoyed writing it. God Bless, Luraia. See ya soon._

_**Unknown beedee:** I read your update... I liked it. :) A stripper club? Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous._

_Anywhoo... I am feeling better... thank heaven. Thanks for your concern. I will finish this story, come hell or high water. Some how, I will finish it. Thanks for the encouragement. God bless, kiddo_

_**Nguardian:** WoW! 3 reviews in the same day! I'm not sure I know how to act. blushes _

_Girls night out... swimming, BBQ, cookies AND brownies....? I loves cookies and brownies. Now I'm hungry._

_I shocked everybody with Cleo... it was fun. :) It didn't come out of left field, but it did come from somewhere inside of my brain that I don't use very often. Hehehehe... Glad you liked it. Also glad you liked the fight scene. I so wanted to actually cut that asshole in half... but I had to restrain myself... it was; however, a pleasant fantasy for several moments. _

_Haven't seen you on-line since we chatted that one day, but I think about you often. Hope you are well. God bless, and take care. Tsuki-san_

_**One black tear:** You flatter me. Thank you from the bottom of my old lady's heart. God Bless. I hope you liked this chapter. Hope to see you again._

_**FangsOfTheDragon:** Totally awesome name. I've been called the 'Dragon Lady' for almost 15 years by close friends because I collect dragons. They are all over my house. Pictures, pewter figures, ceramics, t-shirts, posters, slippers, sheets, uniforms... everywhere. 3 years ago I got a midevil dragon tattooed on my left forearm. He's great! There is a picture of it on my webpage if you want to see it. You can get to my webby off my author's page. Anyway... I'm flattered you think the story is Awesome... I've gotten teary eyed myself while writing it a few times too. It is a difficult story to write sometimes, because it takes a lot of emotional energy out of me... there is a lot of me in this story, but it is also my personal favorite out of all of my fictions so far. My 'vampire' story is my second fav. _

_I hope you liked this chapter... I hope it answered some of your questions about Kaoru. And thanks for your compliments about my ability to turn Hiko into the bad guy. I love Hiko... but somebody had to be the bad guy._

_God Bless, my friend. Hope to see you again._

_**M plus M:** Thank you. You flatter me. Actually, I know quite a few adults who like fanfiction and write it. But, interestingly enough, I am still the OLDEST person I know who writes it... I guess that makes me 'Grandma' or something. LOLOL I just call myself the 'Old Lady' and leave it at that. Any way... I am glad you like the story enough to drop me a review. Hope to see you again. God Bless. **HTML would'nt let me put a plus sign in... blarg!**_

_**Kik-ting:** I am feeling better... thanks. :) Careful how you set in that chair, kid. Don't want you falling out and busting your head. And, no... the fight is not over... Edmond and Daniel are still going to cross swords and fists. It's coming... oh boy, is it coming. Take care, sweetie. Remember what I said about that chair. :)_

_**InuLimbo: I love the dog-eared boy!** He's definitively just as yummy as Kenshin any day. o In fact, I have a one shot over on in the IY section just for him and Kagome. Fiddling around with a Sessh/Kag pairing right now. Don't know if I'll post it or not though. Just fiddling. _

_I'm pleased I was able to grasp your attention seeing as you aren't a real supernatural-type fan. I'm glad I wrote something you like. I hope you liked this chapter. It was definitely of the supernatural tendencies. Hope to see you again. God Bless. Inuyasha rocks_

_**De Lazy Lime:** I hope most of your questions are answered... Kaoru and Quii were under the lighthouse. I haven't decided if I'm going to save Hiko... mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! If you were Edmond/Kenshin, wouldn't you be out of patience too? Unfortunately... Daniel/Hiko don't really give a rip. Go figure. wink Hope you liked the chapter, girly. I see you're still staying up to all hours... gotta love ya. God bless and much love. Take care._

_**Kaoru-890:** Never thought about writing movies, but now that you mention it... you know, when I write, I look at the scenes in my head like they are movies. I watch them unfold the frames in a video, I even have a ffw and a rw feature. I never even thought of that until I read your review. Man, I must be really strange. You guys are going to start thinking I smoke weed or somthing... damn. Hope you liked the chapter. God Bless, Kaoru. Love hearing from you._

_**HaPPyBuNNy:** ThERe'S My gIrL... One of these days I'm gonna get nauseous and throw up doing all that up and down shit. LOLOLOL Didn't mean to creep you out, girly.... well, maybe a little. o I hope you liked the chapter... and I hope you didn't get toooo creeped out. Oh, and by the way... are you sure it isn't 'psychotic bunny' instead of 'Psychic Bunny'? wink... giggle Love you baby. See you soon._

_**Midi Tenshi:** My little Angel girl...I hate stupid computers. Be careful when they beep at you. It usually means they are getting ready to morph into something that devours human flesh. o Thanks for the review. I'm glad you're still loving the story. Hope this chapter was up to expectations. And by the way... I didn't know you wrote... What fanfiction do you write???_

_Thank you to all the reviewers who contact through e-mail and via instant message. I love chatting with everybody who IM's me. There are so many, and several of them have become dear friends who come to chat everyday. But I want everyone to know, you guys are like a second family to me. It means so much to me to 'hear' what you have to say, and 'listening' to your encouraging voices (especially when my health goes for a noser) is one of the things that really keeps me going. I just want to send out a great big **'Thank-you'** and a great big **'((((HUG))))'** to each and every one of you. You all hold a special place in my life and in my heart. God Bless, and take care always. KnT_

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	20. Memories of An AngelWolf

A/N: Please remember that Edmond was in his mid to late twenties and Cassandra in her early to mid twenties when they died. They were 'Adults' and they are now inhabiting Kenshin and Kaoru's teenage bodies as the controlling entity, so . . . their actions and reactions are a bit different to say the least. They are not teenagers, nor do they have teenage philosophy on the brain . . . besides that, they are old country 300 years ago when conversation and relationships were a tad different. Also, Daniel is a mid twenties man stuck in a 40 year old body. Hmmmm

1. Also remember that Kenshin is a letterman in fencing as well as martial arts. Everyone is in for a few surprises.

Chapter Twenty

Memories of An Angel-Wolf

The past, the present, and the future seemed to be colliding all at once inside the small room far beneath the lighthouse, and as the reincarnated lovers once more held each other in their arms, the rip within the fabric of Time widened and the breech became critical.

'...have to get them out . . . must keep them safe . . . must not fail.'

Memories of abusive fists mixed with cries of pain and fear as the worlds of three centuries past and the present swirled together into a befuddlement of fused images. Hazy pictures of Daniel crossed over with horrifying reflections of Hiko as Kenshin's mind slithered next to Edmond's inside the single redheaded skull, and an uncontrolled shudder passed through the body the two entities shared as intense thoughts of protection suddenly surged to the surface of their consciousness.

A small gasping cry pulled the red-haired man away from the woman he held so possessively within his arms as he realized there was no time for this. As much as his heart and soul demanded he hold her, he knew he wasted precious seconds they should be using to escape the darkness. Daniel was not going to remain subdued for much longer, and he had to get the girls to a safe place before he found them. If they were destined to face one another again, then it was not going to be on the dark man's terms this time. It would be on his.

"We must go, Sandra." His gentle touch caressed her tear damp cheek. "Before Daniel finds us here." She nodded and the two of them turned back toward the darkness of the stairway only to find the bright golden eyes of Quii Saitou watching them patiently.

"I don't want to be rude or anything, but it's about time. I mean, it's not like we've got all day for you two to get reacquainted or anything. I know it's been a long time since you've been together and all, but if it's all the same to you . . . I'd like to get the hell outta here before Mr. Ugly comes back."

Edmond raised an indulgent brown eyebrow at her sarcastic way of speaking, and then took the flashlight out of her hand and turned its beam onto her smirking face. "Quite." He replied as he eyed the saucy teenager with a dire look. "By all means, let us be gone from this place. After you, Miss Saitou." He waved his hand toward the dark stairs as he shined the light upward. "I wouldn't want to keep you from anything important . . . like say perhaps, Kenshin's younger brother."

"Soujiro?" Quii gasped and jumped to her feet with wide eyes. "Is Soujiro here? Where is he? Did he really come with you?" Suddenly it seemed their precarious position was forgotten and she looked liked she might pop if he didn't answer her.

"Of course, you silly girl. Where else would he be?" Edmond's voice edged with the slightest amount of impatience as he wondered where this girl's brains were, as they didn't seem to be residing in her head. "It was obvious he cared about you. Kenshin saw that even if you didn't, and that would only make it logical that he would be here to try and help retrieve you as well as help his brother in his time of need. You may not have noticed it in your short association with them, Miss Quii, but Kenshin and Soujiro are not your usual breed of brothers. They are fiercely loyal and completely dedicated to each another."

"Of course I noticed." She snapped. "Everybody noticed. It didn't take a genius to see THAT." She huffed as her cheeks flared in embarrassment. "I'm not THAT blind." The angry thumps of her steps carried her up the stairs as she mumbled to herself. "Why does everyone think I'm so dense and rude all the time? Do I sound that way? Shit!"

"I think you hurt the poor girl's feelings, Edmond." Cassandra's soft voice chided her lover from behind his left shoulder.

"Perhaps, but at least she got up and moved, eh?"

"Wretched man. Why don't you move yourself?" And she gave him a shove that sent him stumbling into the edge of the doorway. "You're the one who said we were in a bit of a hurry, Hmmmm?"

"Mouthy wench." He grinned in the dark and took her arm in a gentle grip and led her upward. "I'd forgotten how much you could get under my skin with that sharp tongue of yours."

"I'm sure that's not all you've forgotten, Edmond." A low chuckle greeted her suggestive statement and Cassandra felt gooseflesh prickle across her arms and down her backbone.

"I've not forgotten as much as you think, lovely Sandra." His voice was suddenly very close to the shell of her ear and her breath hitched in her throat as a jolt of awareness caught her by surprise. "My memory is quite good, and improving by the moment."

"Hey! Hurry up down there." Quii's disembodied voice floated down to the emotionally charged couple, acting like a bucket of ice water. "Or are you trying to screw this up?"

"I'm going to personally strangle that irritating child."

"Edmond," Cassandra admonished him in a shaky voice. "She's just trying to be helpful."

"Aye, but she's rubbing me the wrong way . . . and interfering at the most inopportune moments."

"What do you expect? She's a child. That's what they are supposed to do."

"Fuck that."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?"

"What? Oh, forgive me." He said sheepishly. "It would appear I've been spending too much time with young Kenshin." His smile was boyish and completely endearing as they walked out into the daylight. "His bad habits must be starting to rub off on me."

"I see. Is that the excuse you are going to stick with?" Her dark blue eyes danced merrily in her pretty face as she enjoyed his embarrassed slip in manners.

"Aye. That I am." He quickly kissed her cheek as his sparkling amethyst orbs laughed into her smirking face. "It's safer that way, I'm thinking."

"Coward." She caressed his cheek and then allowed him to lead her up the pathway around the corner of the lighthouse. She didn't remember him being this spontaneous or having quite this much of a sense of humor before and she was enjoying it. One of the perks of a dual entity personality she decided.

As they entered the lighthouse back through the kitchen door, Edmond immediately shoved the two females behind him. From there, their progress was much more calculated as the red-haired man carefully looked around each corner before entering another room. There was no use stumbling onto Daniel before absolutely necessary if they could avoid it.  
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"All right, look it's been way over fifteen minutes since Himura disappeared inside of there." Ruakii was dancing from one foot to the other in anxious anticipation as his gaze darted from the lighthouse to the stone faced Aoshi and back again. "What are we doing, Shinomori? Are we standing here or are we moving out? Make a decision, dammit! That's my little sister in there!"

"Shut-up, Ruakii." Aoshi's voice was pure ice as he turned his deadly gaze onto the fidgeting boy. "All your complaining and constant bullshit is making my head hurt. We will move when I say we move. Understand? Himura left me in charge, not you. Now calm yourself, and try to be useful for a change."

"Useful? What the fuck do you want me to do that's useful? We're just standing around for fuck sake!"

"I told you to shut-up. That's useful." The icy blue-green eyes stared hard into Ruakii's face and the shorter boy was intimidated into a shameful silence. "I am trying to give Himura as much time as possible before we go blowing this thing wide open. Less people get hurt that way. So, just sit still and wait. No one is going anywhere until I say so . . . got it?"

"Yeah, sure." Ruakii's dark eyes turned and looked out across the wind swept surf as he tried to calm his panicked mind. 'She's my responsibility and I blew it. I've always blown it. I never did anything for her that I can say I'm proud of . . . not a damn thing. No wonder she hates me. I'm sorry, Quii. I'm sorry baby-girl . . . so damn sorry.' "My Dad is going to kill us."

"Most likely, but not before we do what we have to do." Aoshi looked at his watch and noted that twenty-five minutes had crept by and still there was no sign of Kenshin or the girls. 'I can't wait any longer, my friend.' He thought with dismay as he turned and caught Sano's worried brown gaze. A faint nod of his head was all that was needed and the tall dark haired teen's lips tightened in understanding.

"Come on, Saitou." Sano growled as he reached out and grabbed the collar of Ruakii's jacket and jerked him over next to him. "Let's go."

"What? Now?"

"Yeah. Now. Come on. I'm not waiting on your ass. Move." And then Sano was sprinting off toward the old bridge with the shorter boy hot on his heels.

"Are you ready for this, Soujiro?" Aoshi's cool steadfast gaze turned and measured the younger boy's calm, blank profile as the wind blew the soft brown hair off his forehead. "We have to go in there and find him . . . find out what's happened to him."

"I know."

"I don't know what's in there, Soujiro. I know he thought it was bad."

"That's why he went alone, Aoshi. He's always facing Dad alone so nobody else gets hurts. It's always been that way. I used to have nightmares when I was a kid that one day Dad was going to hit him so hard it was going to kill him. I'd wake up in the night with tears on my face crying his name. He'd always come into my room and hold me, you know, like I was a little kid, and tell me everything was going to be ok. He always said that nothing was ever going to happen to him, that he'd never let Dad get him . . . but, what if . . . what if this time . . . what if he's wrong?" Pain filled blue-gray eyes turned and looked hard into Aoshi's face. "What do I tell Cleo? And Mom? If we go in there and find out the old man killed him, what do I tell them? HOW do I tell them that he's finally gone . . . that after all these years, Dad finally won? How do I do that?"

"I..." Aoshi reached out and gripped Soujiro's shoulder in a hard hand as he forced himself to lock gazes with the younger boy. "You are not going to have to do that." His voice was low but hard as flint. "I will not accept that Kenshin is dead until I see him with my own eyes. He may be hurt, but I will not believe he is dead . . . and neither will you, do you understand me, Soujiro? Your brother is not dead!"

"You don't know that." Soujiro dropped his head for a moment but Aoshi shook him so hard he had to look back up.  
"Yes I do. I've fought him myself. I know what he's capable of and he is no fool. He will not let that maniac take him down when he has so much to fight for . . . to live for. Where is your faith, Soujiro? Where is your belief in this brother who has fought for you for so long? Where is your heart that loves and honors him with your respect and faith? Where is your Loyalty?"

"It is HERE!" He cried as tears filled his eyes and his hand grabbed the front of Aoshi's jacket in a hard fist. "It is HERE, in my chest."

"Then hold onto it because he needs you . . . and so do I.." Icy blue crystals locked and held the flaming iridescent blue lanterns as the two young men hung onto each other with fierce grips. "I can't go in there without you, Sou. I can't do this alone. I need your help. Help me."

"I will. God help us both. I will."

The bitter wind seemed to blow all the colder as the two young men threw their shoulders back and started to walk toward the open front door. God only knew what was waiting for them inside, but it was time to find out. Each drew a deep sobering breath, and then ducked beneath the old rotted door and disappeared inside.

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The Angel-wolf stirred restlessly beneath Edmond's cool facade as the wary colonial man led the two young women back along the pathway through the living quarters that he had taken to get outside. Something was wrong and the predator-protector kept trying to pinpoint the cause for the feeling, but Edmond's thoughts were so chaotic at the moment as he flashed from trying to keep the women safe to his elation and confusion over being alive again with his beloved that the warrior within was having difficulties finding any balance for focus.

He knew that the shift in the mood of the surrounding silence was a bad omen, but the lighthouse had been haunted for so long, how was one to know which omen to worry about first. Being trapped inside of the same body with two other identities of the same person were taking their toll on his instincts and senses, but he continued to try and keep Edmond alert and prepared to some degree. The man was no fool, but he was no Kenshin either. At least the younger version of themselves had the heart of a survivor and knew what it meant to be hunted. He knew the warning signs and the precautions needed to ensure his success and the safety of those that were with him, but Edmond Fetlock; Edmond had never really been faced with such dire circumstances as these, and he was letting his emotions get in the way.

"Where are we going, Edmond?" Cassandra reached out and tentatively touched her lover's taut shoulder as they stood within the doorframe of the cook's quarters. "Shouldn't we be trying to get young Quii out of here before we do anything else?"

"Aye, Sandra. That's what I'm trying to do, but I just can't shake this feeling that something is wrong. Something's waiting for us, but it's not Daniel."

"What do you mean, 'it's not Daniel'?" Her face creased with confusion and worry as she pulled him around to face her. "Who is it then?"  
"I don't know." He shook his head and looked at her with wide violet eyes that reflected his indecision. "I can't explain it. It just feels wrong." A worried glance touched Quii's frightened features, and then he walked through the door without another word.

Cassandra screamed shrilly as the blurred vision of a chair came crashing down onto the slender frame of her beloved. The force of the vicious blow sent bits and pieces of wooden legs and armrests splintering off in all directions as the chair crumpled against the younger man, sending him careening further into the room and then onto the floor in a heap of moaning linen and blue silk.

"Not so quick these days are you, boy?"

"And you're just as fair-minded when it comes to confrontations as you ever were, aren't you, old man?" The voice that rose from the heap of arms and legs had a faintly hollow quality to it, and as the young man pushed himself over onto his back a swathe of unruly hair fell across his forehead covering his face. He coughed several times, and then sat up dusting off his hands and wiping the hair off his face. "But then, I don't know why I'd have thought you'd change after all this time. After all, you always were a fucking yellow bastard when it came to fighting. I should have remembered that."  
  
Ferociously glittering green jewels narrowed into dangerous slits as Hiko Seijuro listened to the snarling, irritating smoothness of a voice he had not heard in years. It was a voice he thought was long gone. Long ago subdued. The voice of the snapping yellow-eyed, feral demon that had clawed and punched at his authority until his rage had nearly caused him to murdered it with his fists. It was the voice of Kenshin's fury, but Hiko detected something different about it this time. There was an icy maturity that he had never heard before, and as the glowering yellow orbs of hatred shifted to his face, he felt a ball of nausea slamming hard into his gut. This was not the wild wolf-cub he remembered. This was something else. This was something infinitely more dangerous.

"What's wrong, old man?" The Angel-wolf crawled slowly to his feet a feral gleam shimmering in his liquid amber gaze, as he forcibly pushed the last vestiges of Edmond Fetlock away into the back of their collective-mind. "You look like someone just walked over your grave . . . or did you just miss me?" The smart-ass question was followed by a wicked chuckle, a rough shake to the shaggy mane of disheveled red hair, and then an almost playful toss of the heavy mass over his shoulders clearing his vision and revealing his face. Then he subtly shifted his body into a forty-five-degree angle, tucked his chin into his chest, and then smoothly moved his left hand to rest it on the well-balanced hilt of his katana. "Don't you know it's going to take a lot more than one fucking chair to get me down, old man? I don't break quite that easily, or have you forgotten?"

"I haven't forgotten anything, you fucking wild animal." Hiko rasped as he stepped off to the left trying to judge just how much better at the game the beast was than he used to be. "As I remember, it was usually you who ended up eating shit in the old days, so perhaps it's you that has the bad memory. Eh? No matter what, I always win. Or have YOU forgotten?"

The Angel-wolf tossed his head back and barked a loud ring of laughter that sent cold chills up the older man's spine. "I remember everything you ever did to me. You fucking spineless ape." He jibbed as he gripped his katana and laughed. Then, just as unexpectedly, his voice dropped to a threatening hiss, and the snarl that curled his lips gave him an even more frightening appearance when coupled with the acidic look in his yellow eyes. "I remember every punch, every slap, every kick, every vicious word and peevish threat you've ever heaped upon my person; all the bloody noses and black eyes, dislocated shoulders and elbows, broken fingers and ribs, all the sucker punches and choke holds when I wasn't looking . . . yeah, I remember everything."

"Right, sure you do." Hiko sneered in mock bravado trying to bluff the beast into thinking he was completely unaffected by the ferocity of the exchange. "And now you're the big man? Is that what you're thinking? You're all grown up and finally big enough to stand up to me and get it all back? Is that it . . . pup?" The big man started to chuckle low in his chest, a deep disrespectful sound meant to play on the Angel-wolf's psyche and shake his resolve. "Some things never change, do they. You know you're still just as full of shit now as you were back then. "

"I don't think so." As the words oozed menacingly from a place deep in the Angel-wolf's throat, his lightening quick agility launched him high into the air as he sprang at the hulking form of the older man. His body arched gracefully and as he twisted, both of his booted feet came smashing down into the big man's shoulders sending him stumbling and sprawling awkwardly into the nearest wall with tremendous force. The snapping sound of Hiko's jawbone coming in contact with the plaster surface cracked through the coolness of the room, and he groaned, slumping halfway to the floor leaving a smear of blood behind as he went.

The Angel-wolf landed on all fours several feet away, agile as a cat and prepared for a counter attack if any were to come. When nothing happened, he sprinted back toward the open door and grabbed a gapping Cassandra by the wrist yanking her into the room. "You have to run, Sandra." He grated out through clenched teeth as he met her terrified gaze. "Get the hell out of here and take Quii with you."

"Wh-where am I supposed to go?" Her hand reached up and grabbed his chin as her eyes darted warily to their right and then back up to his face to lock with his flashing amber crystals. "What do you want me to do?" She asked as she realized to whom she was speaking. Edmond was gone and the changeling had returned to take control of the body once again.

"Find Aoshi and Sou. They should be inside of here somewhere by now . . . find them. They will keep the two of you safe."

"And what about you?" She sounded panicked. "I can't leave you here like this. I won't leave you here like this. Even you can't do this alone!"

"You have to. This is something I have to do. I was made to do this, Sandra, don't you see that? This is why I am here, but I can't do this until I know you're safe. You and Kaoru have to be safe. Now GO! Please!" As he spoke the words that would send her running from him, the Angel-wolf turned for one split second and let his gaze fall upon the heaving form of Hiko as he struggled to regain his feet. "There isn't any more time for discussion, Sandra. Get the fuck out of here!"

"But . . . "  
  
"RUN CASSANDRA!" He shouted into her wide-eyed terrified face as he shoved her away from him. "Run and don't look back!"

"We love you." Cassandra/Kaoru gazed into the fierce face as she reached behind her groping for Quii's hand. "Don't you dare get dead . . . we'll never forgive you if you do."

A cocky smile curved his handsome mouth and he dipped down to steal a swift kiss. "We love you too." He breathed fiercely and then pushed the two women toward the far door. "And we have absolutely no intention of getting dead . . . we've got too much to live for. Now run! Find Aoshi and Sou."

He watched her disappear through the open doorway with a sigh, but his feelings of relief were suddenly being washed away as all the short hairs on the back of his neck stood on end in screaming alarm. "I'd have thought, boy, that you would have learned by now you should never take your eyes off me let alone show me your back." A delicate shiver of awareness slithered across the Angel-wolf's skin and the golden-eyed warrior froze as the deep husky voice from all of his worst nightmares came creeping over his shoulder. "But you really fucked up now, smart ass, and you're as good as mine . . . and nobody's here to stop me. You're dead you little hell-spawn. Get ready to go meet your Father." He felt a cold rush of displaced air coming up from behind him, indicating movement of a large object at high speed, and it shifted passed his cheek lifting several feathery strands of his crimson hair in its wake. Then, in the next split instant, he heard the unmistakable sound of steel being pulled from leather as Hiko's saber cleared its sheath and went whining through space on a hard upward swing meant to tear the muscles of his back to ribbons.

"I'm here, Hiko . . . " The Angel-wolf growled as his eyes flashed a bright furious gold. "But you don't get to have me. Not this time . . . not any time." And as the rapier sliced through the air, the amber-eyed warrior leapt straight up into the air arching and twisting as his trajectory took him over his opponent's head. He landed feather-soft about six feet away and the 'swish' of his katana as it left its sheath sounded like the rasp of death in the stillness. "Let's dance you bastard. I'm tired of playing games with you."

Hiko stumbled to a halt as his blade met nothing but emptiness where the body of his estranged step-son used to be standing. Furiously he turned and faced the snarling crouched figure that had somehow ended up behind him. "You want to dance you little fuck?" He bit between his clenched aching teeth before turning to spit some bloody phlegm on the floor. "No problem, but I get to lead . . . " He rushed forward with a vicious two-handed thrust aimed at the teen's throat, but the katana rose upward like a ripple of liquid silver and parried the wild attack filling the room with the resounding 'ching' of metal on metal as the two blades struck each other. The saber swung upward with the parry and then rolled sharply over the top of the katana and tried to use its momentum to slice back downward onto its opponent's exposed right arm, but a swift duck beneath the katana's protective overhead barrier left nothing for the Spanish steel to bite as it quickly dropped. The exchange ended as quickly as it began as the blades sparked off each other, and then the younger man roughly pushed his shoulder into the back of the hulking form as it passed by shoving the bigger man away from him.

As the first pass ended without either opponent finding purchase in his enemy's flesh, the two challengers backed slowly away from one another with arms spread wide, weapons to the forefront, and their eyes locked malevolently upon the gaze of the other. Silence stretched out, and as the tension started to mount, they began circling each other like two wolves locked in a life or death battle over superiority and control of the pack; the younger and the elder, they stood with fangs bared, claws at the ready, and the death of one or the other assured by the laws of natural succession and survival of the fittest. Hatred boiled hot in each predatory gaze, and bloodshed was immanent. It was only a matter of time.

The Angel-wolf carefully sheathed his sword never letting his gaze falter for even an instance as he arranged his body in the age-old battoujutsu stance with his right foot forward, knee bent, a slight twist at the waist took his left foot behind him where it was firmly planted on the floor waiting to propel him forward. His left hand held the wooden sheath tightly, the thumb 'clicking' the hilt free from the safety catch as his right hand passed in front of his body to hover over the leather-covered wood in anticipation of his next move. He was perfectly poised for attack or defense, and he stood still as stone his eyes trained on his enemy.

"Is that supposed to make me nervous, boy?" Hiko narrowed his eyes as he shifted his stance bringing his saber into a full frontal attack position. He could feel Daniel's expertise and knowledge with a blade shifting and stretching beneath his skin as the other half of his dual entity once more took over the battle, and he felt a sense of invincibility wash over him as his arrogance rose to the surface and surged through his soul. "You'll have to do a lot better than that before you shake our confidence."

Hiko knew nothing of swordplay, but Daniel had been an expert swordsman and the only thing weighing him down now was his alter ego's unstable rage and hatred for their opponent. So clouded were the Lawyer's thoughts that Daniel was having difficulties communicating the fact that the fighting stance the young wolf had taken up was something that needed to be taken very seriously. It looked deceptively ill prepared for any sword fight, and even though Daniel hated the Japanese with an evil passion, he had heard about Samurai Warriors and their incredible sword skills. This was one of those strange battle stances he had heard about once, and he knew it was lightning death or dismemberment for an opponent who underestimated its effectiveness, but Hiko was not paying attention to anything but his own fury and bloodlust. All he wanted was to hear the boy's screams of pain and see his blood on the ground. He wanted death, and nothing else was getting through. Daniel would have to try and save them on his skills alone.

A blinding rush of speed turned him into a blur of black and brought him right up on top of the younger man in the space of a breath, but instead of trying to bring his saber upward as he had done before, Hiko/Daniel whirled at the last moment and brought it around in a full sweeping downward arch from high to the right aiming for the juncture of the Angel-wolf's neck and shoulder. This maneuver would cut the little beast's upper body in half at an angle severing all of the main blood carrying vessels and all but decapitating him as well. It was perfect, and as he flew forward, a feeling of God-like confidence surged through his body and he threw his head back letting his voice rise on a shout of Victory. His mind could already see the bloody death of his enemy as it would happen in the next breath of time. He had won the battle honorably and the world belonged to him. She belonged to him. All the wrongs he had committed had been set right and he was free. They were both free.  
An elation he had never experienced before rushed through him making him feel even more powerful as his arms pulled the saber through the last movements of the attack that would make him the strongest, but just as he reached for Victory, Hiko/Daniel caught sight of the faintest washing of blue as it bled into the blur of the world around him. Then suddenly his perfect dream was being shattered by a screaming battle cry that set the blood in his veins to ice and he faltered, wavering in his resolve. As the saber came arching down through the turn in search of its prey, pain exploded across his chest igniting a fire inside of his lungs. He sucked in a great gout of air as he stumbled to the side, swinging wildly with his sword arm only to feel another fire erupt along the extremity.

His vision blurred, and as the sounds of inhuman screaming began to fill the room, he heard the clattering of steel striking the floor and then rolling away. His ears were ringing and he could hear the sounds of a great rushing water roaring all around him as it slammed and churned against the rocks and cliffs. The wind screamed in his face and bit at his skin as he fell and he could feel the darkness reaching up for him. He was falling into the darkness. The darkness that had neither substance nor purpose. The darkness with no name. The darkness that swallowed men whole and never returned them to the world of the light.

He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

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_Review Responses at the end of chapter 22._

_God Bless Tsuki-san._


	21. Shades of Yesterday

A/N: You were all saved from the cliffy from hell by my youngest son, Cameron. He said if I ended it here, he'd kill me . . . and he knew you guys would kill me because this was the absolute worst cliffy I ever did . . . EVER! So . . . he saved you from ME. LOLOL. On with the story. For a bit anyway. Hehehehehehe............................................................................................................. KnT  
Chapter Twenty-One

1. Shades of Yesterday

Aoshi's head snapped up as the sound of screaming reached his sensitive ears. A shiver ran up his spine at the tenor of the screams and he exchanged a worried glance with Soujiro. Ever since entering the lighthouse the two young men had been on a roller coaster of awe, disbelief, and total shock. There was a little horror in the mix but not enough to send them screaming back out the door, but enough to make them wish that guys hugging wasn't such a 'fairy' thing to do. They had definitely gotten way more than they had bargained for.

Upon finding the interior fully restored to its colonial glory as they entered the front door when they expected to see the moldering ruins they knew to be there, both young men had found themselves frozen to the spot in mute disbelief. What was worse was when both of their clothes had changed even as they wore them morphing into colonial vests, linen shirts with ascot and lace cuffs, snug fitting black breeches, and half calf boots. Their hair was long and pulled back into smooth ponytails held with plain black ribbons. But somehow, by the grace of God, neither had been inflicted with the tri-point hat.

"I definitely do not like the sound of that." The tall dark haired youth frowned as he met the worried blue-gray gaze of Kenshin's younger brother. "That sounds extraordinarily bad."

"No kidding." Soujiro raised his eyes and looked at the ceiling above them as if it were going to tell them what was going on. "Who do you think it is?"

"I don't know." Aoshi didn't want to think about that, but before he could ponder not thinking about it, the screaming suddenly stopped leaving the air as empty as a tomb. "Shit!" He muttered under his breath as his eyes shifted skyward. "I don't like the sound of that either."

"What the hell is going on here, Aoshi?" Soujiro's face had gone from pale to ashen and now looked helplessly at the older youth. "How is all of this happening . . . and how in the hell are we involved? Are we ghosts too?"

"I don't know, Sou. I don't know, but we obviously have something to do with all of this, or we would not have changed, so get a hold of yourself and let's go see what we can see." Aoshi grabbed the shoulder of Soujiro's sleeve and pulled him with him as he started back toward the living quarters. "There has to be an answer to all of this somewhere in this place, and we have to find Himura and the girls, so pull yourself together."

"I am, I am. This is just fucking weird, you know."

"I know. Trust me, I know."

"By the way, Aosh?"

"Hmmmm?"

"You look great in green satin." Aoshi turned and glared at the smirking face of the younger teen. "It really brings out the color in your eyes."

"Stuff it pretty boy." Aoshi growled as he yanked Soujiro through a sculpted doorframe. "Or I'll retie that fancy bow around your neck." Soujiro laughed lightly as he stumbled behind the tall dark-haired man. He was beginning to discover just how much fun it could be to needle the overly serious braniac, and it was helping to calm his frazzled nerves as well. So, with a heart felt sigh, he slapped the stone faced teen on the back.

"Just trying to lighten things up a little, you know. It feels like everything is trying to close in and smother us in here." He shrugged and offered Aoshi a boyish smile when the glowering greenish-blue gaze raked his fine features. "I really didn't mean anything by it."

"Yes, well perhaps, but I really need you to stay focused, Soujiro. This is not the time for jokes."

"I know, but I can't help it. I'm really nervous." The boyishly handsome face turned pensive and Soujiro looked around the room they had just entered. "And I'm scared that something has happened to Kenshin."

"You can't help him if you can't stay focused, Sou." Aoshi carefully approached the door on the other side of the room, and reaching for the brass handle carefully turned it and started to push the door open. "You need to keep your wits about you if you are going to be of any use to either one of us."

"I know, I know, and whether you believe it or not, I really am trying."

"Uh-huh..." As Aoshi tentatively opened the door and stuck his head through, he was met by a frightened hiss that nearly sent him stumbling back on his rear end in shocked whiplash.

"Eeeeeeeeee . . . !"

"Whoa! What the . . . ?" He shoved the door open and reached behind it grabbing for the flash of pink he saw diving off to his right. "Hang on!"

"RUN QUII!" The petite frame of an ebony haired woman dressed in a rose-colored robe tried to dodge away from Aoshi's quick grasp, but she just was not fast enough and his hand closed around her delicate wrist. One hard yank pulled her hard back against his chest and his arms wrapped around her preventing her from making another move. A strangled cry of terrified defeat issued from her throat as she began to struggle against the iron prison of muscles, but there was no escaping and she slumped back in defeat.

"Kaoru!" Aoshi's voice was a desperate cry of anxiety in her ear and then she was being turned around to face her captor. "Kaoru! Oh my God! Are you alright? It's me, Aoshi, don't you recognize me? Kaoru? What the hell happened? Where's Himura? Kaoru?!"

Startled blue eyes stared up into his lean, deeply concerned face and he could see the confusion and fear working through their stormy depths as the woman in his arms struggled to make sense of what was going on around her, and as Aoshi looked at her, he realized something very important and very frightening. The breath caught in his throat and his heart froze between beats.

This was not Kaoru. It was, but yet it was not. The face was the same, the eyes were the same, but the look in them was completely different. The soul that stared at him from the raging blue sea of emotions in that face was not the girl he knew. It was someone much older and much more troubled than the teenager whose body she wore.

"Cassandra?" The name fell from his thin lips as his mind tried to accept what his soul screamed was the truth. "Dear God. It's you in there, isn't it?"

"Elliot?" The woman's voice was a hushed whisper of disbelief as she stared into the tall dark-haired man's anxiety stricken face. "How . . . what are you doing here? If Daniel sees you, he'll kill you. Why would you risk coming here? Why would you do that?"

"Elliot?" Aoshi's head began to swim wildly and he released his hold on the now troubled woman so he could step away. "Why did you call me Elliot? My name is Aoshi Shinomori. I am not Elliot."

"What's gotten into you, Elliot?" Cassandra grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look her in the face. "Don't you even know who you are for Godsake? Don't you know why you're here or what's going on?" As the look of confusion intensified on his lean face, she began to fear that he may not be privy to the knowledge that she and Edmond were, or that Kaoru and Kenshin had been. "Elliot? Do you know me? Do you know who you are?"

"I... I don't..." Aoshi stuttered as a horrific pain began to pound against his temples with each beat of his aching heart and the worst idea began to occur to him. "Who . . . who am I?" He asked trepidatiously knowing full well that he was not going to like the answer.

"What the hell is going on?" Soujiro had rushed into the room behind Aoshi, and seeing Quii stumbling toward the other side, had sprinted after her pulling her into the security of his arms. Once she realized who it was that held her, she had all but smothered him with a crushing embrace and sobs of relief. "Aoshi? Are you Ok, Man? You look . . . you look like you're going to pass out. Kaoru, what's going on?" His gaze shifted to the ebony haired girl but she did not respond.

"She's not Kaoru." Quii's voice was soft and shaky as she turned to face a confused Soujiro. "She's only 'borrowing' Kaoru's body for the time being."

"Wha . . . excuse me? Did you just say 'borrowing'?"

"Yes, I did."

"Would someone please tell me what the fuck is going on here?" Soujiro disengaged himself from Quii's death grip and walked over to the other couple. Carefully he removed the woman's hands from Aoshi's shoulders and then turned her to face him. "If you aren't Kaoru, just who the hell are you, and where is Kaoru?"

"Oh my God!" As her eyes made contact with his face, the woman's skin turned a pasty shade of gray and her hands rose to cover her mouth. Huge blue eyes filled with tears and her breathing became tight and labored as she dissolved into sobs of disbelief. "Ethan . . . you're alive. Merciful God," Her voice cracked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. "You're alive. My beautiful little brother. You're alive again. We're all alive again. I don't understand . . . how? Oh Ethan . . . Ethan."

A blinding burst of white light exploded in front of Aoshi's eyes and suddenly the whole world faded away and he found himself standing on a grassy knoll overlooking a vast green meadow filled with wild flowers. Behind him was a dense evergreen forest filled with juniper pines, conifers, and the occasional oak and cottonwood. Somehow he knew that just an hours ride to the north was the colony town of Sedgmont where he had been born and raised by his parishioner father and lady mother.

Without a sound, his tall frame crumpled to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs as he was sucked into the abyssal of time and memory. A cry of dismay tore its way free from Cassandra's throat as she dropped to her knees beside him and lifted his limp head into her lap. Tender hands caressed his hawk-like features as she began to croon brokenly over him her tears dripping onto the smoothness of his cheeks.

"Elliot," She cried raggedly. "Where have you gone? What is happening to you, my dearest friend? Please come back. Edmond needs you . . . I need you. Please come back. Oh God . . . don't do this to us. Not now, not this man."

"Who is he?" Soujiro knelt on the other side of Aoshi's supine body and worriedly felt the clamminess of his friends skin. "If I am your little brother, Ethan, who is 'Elliot' and how does he fit into this whole fucking mess?"

Cassandra looked up into the beloved face she thought never to see again and tenderly cupped it in one of her hands. "You understand then?" She asked in a broken voice. "You know who I am?"

"You must be Cassandra, Edmond Fetlock's lover. Right?"

She nodded and offered him a watery smile. "And you're my younger brother, Ethan O'Massy. There was four years between us, but we were always very close."

"I gathered. I'm sorry I don't remember." He offered her with half a smile and a shrug of apology. "But this was not something I was prepared for . . . neither was Aoshi. We just sort of stumbled into it trying to help Kenshin. You know Kenshin is my brother this time around. Sort of strange wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, it is quite strange, but it is even stranger how we have all managed to somehow stay in contact with each other in one way or another . . . even if it took a few years to make those contacts." Once more her concerned gaze dropped to the face of the unconscious man lying in her lap. "Elliot was my dearest friend from childhood and we would have married if my Father would've allowed it."

"Why didn't he? I don't understand. Couldn't you marry whomever you wanted back then?"

"Oh no. Many marriages were arranged by bargaining for dowries and land parcels, or political and social status. There were many other reasons to get married in those days that had nothing to do with love, and a young girl did what she was told not what she wanted."

"That sucks." Soujiro shook his head in disgust. "That's just not right. No one should be forced to marry someone they don't love. Is that how you ended up with Daniel?"

"Aye. He was the oldest son of the town's parishioner and was in line to inherit his father's parish and all of his lands. It was considered an excellent match and it made my father a very important man to be affiliated so closely with the Reverend." A hard look crossed her fine features as the memories filtered through her mind. "It more than doubled his business even before the wedding."

"His business? What kind of business?"

"He was a bread vendor. One of many, but being associated with the Reverend somehow made his bread tenfold better than anyone else's, and suddenly he couldn't make enough to go around. He became a rich man almost over night."

"That doesn't make it right."

"Perhaps not, but that was the way of it in those days."

"Cassandra?" Soujiro reached out and wrapped his hand around her wrist and brought her gaze back to him. "You still haven't really told me who Elliot is. You said he was your dearest childhood friend, but why weren't you allowed to marry him? What was wrong with him that he wasn't considered a good match for you and Daniel 'The Animal' was?"

The tears in her eyes brimmed over and spilled down her pale cheeks as she looked into the questioning face of the young man sitting before her. Even after three centuries the ache had never really gone away. Though the love she shared with Elliot was not a romantic one, she would have gladly married him and bore his children because she was certain that a lasting love would have grown between them. But it was not meant to be, and then she had eventually met Edmond and lost her heart and soul to his gentle smile and tender amethyst gaze. Life was strange and often cruel in the way it allowed Fate to shape destinies, but that was what free choice was made for.

"Elliot was considered a poor match because the best he could ever hope to be was a manual laborer somewhere. We would have always been poor and struggling for every meal to feed our family. He was a good, kind man, and I think we would have been happy no matter what our life had been like but my Father would not have his daughter marry a penniless man." A deep sigh of regret and old grief lifted her bosom and Cassandra let her gaze drop once more to the sharp features beneath her palm. "He was the Reverend's youngest son . . . He was Daniel's youngest brother, and because of our closeness, Daniel threatened to kill him if he ever came near me again after we were married."

"Holy shit!" Soujiro looked down at the still face of his friend as his mind began to whirl with the impact of all the information he was trying to absorb. "What happened?" He asked as he looked back at her grief-stricken face. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know." She replied in a flat voice. "He helped Edmond and I escape Sedgmont and we never heard from him again. I liked to think he got married and lived happily ever after."

"Do you really believe that happened?"

"No, I don't."

"What do you believe, Cassandra? What do you believe really happened to him?"

"I think Daniel killed him." Deeply sad blue eyes rose to lock with concerned blue-gray as she continued to stroke the pale clammy face in her lap. "That's what I think happened. Daniel knew about Edmond and me, and he knew that Elliot was trying to help us get away from him. You see, Elliot wanted me to be happy and he knew what an animal Daniel was, so he was willing to do anything for me. Absolutely anything . . . even defy his brother."

"Oh Cassandra, I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago, Ethan. Everything was a long time ago. All that matters is we are all here now, and we have to help Edmond."

"Wait," He stopped her when she made to move away. "You said you couldn't believe I was alive 'again' . . . what happened to me? Please tell me, what happened to me?" Part of him didn't want to know, but another part was screaming to hear the whole truth. He just had to know.

"Ethan..." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter..."

"Yes, it does. Please tell me."

"Why?" The grief in her gaze told him he didn't want to know, but he pressed her anyway.

"I have to know. Please."

"He killed you, Ethan. The same as everyone else. You challenged him to a duel for my honor . . . and he killed you. You were barely sixteen years old, and he killed you." She dropped her eyes as tears slipped down her face once more. "Shot you straight through the heart, he did, before you even had the chance to cock your pistol."

"Jesus . . . He killed us all. Every fucking one of us. You, Edmond, Elliot, and me. All of us. Why? Why would he do that? What was so fucking important to him that he had to kill so many people . . . and his own kin for that matter?" Soujiro's voice was hoarse as emotion constricted the muscles of his throat. "What?"

"His pride, Ethan. It was always his Pride."

"Fuck that." Tears began to spill down his flawless face and he absently felt the comforting embrace of Quii's arms as they wrapped around his neck and shoulders. "That's just sick and wrong, Sandy." He whispered in a strange voice that came from somewhere deep inside of him. "He had no rights to do that . . . no rights at all."

"I know, Ea . . . I know." Cassandra leaned across Elliot's body and pulled her brother into her arms pressing his tear wet face into the curve of her shoulder. "But it'll be alright soon, sweetling. I promise it will be alright." As their hearts fell into sinc and their breath mingled the white light that had engulfed Aoshi/Elliot rose up from his body and swallowed them within its all encompassing embrace. They sagged soundlessly to the sides of their supine friend just as unconscious as he was.

Quii sat stunned into silence as she stared at the three still bodies on the floor. "What am I supposed to do now?" She whispered in terrified anxiety. "Daddy? Where are you?"  
#################

There was blood everywhere. It was splattered across the wall and the ceiling, it was speckled on his clothes and in his hair, and it was pooling on the floor beneath the heavy body of the man wearing black. A crimson stain was spreading over the front of the now visible white shirt that stretched tautly across the man's chest, and his breathing had become hoarse and shallow as the heavy blood loss started to take its tole on his system.

Lying not more than three feet away from him was his own severed hand bloody palm up, fingers relaxed and open. Several more feet from there lay his sword where it had come to rest after dropping from the lifeless hand and rolling as far as its momentum would take it. The only blood on its surface was the smear of its owners across the intricate golden hilt. The blade remained clean.

The ghastly stump of his wrist ran freely as the radial artery pumped with his faltering heart beat and spilled the red life-giving liquid of his body's soul out onto the wooden flooring. The man in black was bleeding to death from his wounds, and the ferocious golden eyes of his nemesis were watching in frozen shock as the puddle grew wider.

'What do I do?' His mind was racing as he considered the options open to him at the moment. 'Do I tie a tourniquet around his arm and stop the bleeding . . . do I save his fucking useless life, or do I let him die?' A shaking hand reached up and wiped at the blood spatters on his face as he struggled with the moral issue of his predicament. 'Can I live with myself if I let him die? God? Help me!'

With a foul curse, the Angel-wolf sheathed his bloody katana and rushed over to the fallen man kneeling by his side. Frantically he pulled the tie of his ascot undone and proceeded to wrap it as tightly as he could around the bleeding stump until the flow of blood was cut off, and then he secured the ends in a tight square knot. Next he tore open the man's shirt and surveyed the damage to his chest. It was not as bad as he thought it was going to be, but the gash was still very deep and there was a lot of bleeding. Looking around, he stood up and moved to one of the tables where he pulled one of the linen runners off. He packed this into the wound and applied pressure.

"There," He snarled under his breath as he stood up and moved away trying to wipe the blood off on his breeches. "I don't owe you anything else, do you hear me, Hiko. I don't owe you anything else, and Edmond doesn't owe Daniel anything else either. We're finished here . . . this is over. It's all over." As he turned to walk out of the room, the big man laying on the floor groaned and moved. 'What the . . . no way.' The Angel-wolf warily walked back over to where his enemy lay on the floor and looked down with shocked golden eyes.

"It will never be over, Eddy . . . You 'ere me, me boy? It'll never be over as long as there's breath in this body." Unbelievably, Daniel's left hand shifted to his boot, and before the Angel-wolf or Edmond or Kenshin could understand or react, the hand pulled back and sent the glint of sliver flying through the air, dead on mark.

Pain blossomed inside of the red-haired man's belly, and as his eyes blew open wide in amazement, he felt himself dropping to his knees. His hand reached for the pain and found something solid, he pulled at it, and was surprised to feel the weight of a short blade as it came loose in his grasp. Looking down he saw the dark stain appear on the lower left side of his blue vest, and was almost fascinated as it began to grow larger.  
  
"You fucking bastard..." He rasped as he looked up and met the malevolent green gaze of the man he had just saved.

"I told you, Eddy. This will never be over, Laddy . . . never."

"Fuck you, Daniel." The Angel-wolf reached for his katana but his vision began to swim. "I'm going to end this now . . . once and for all. I refuse to let the likes of you win, you Godless son-of-a-bitch." Edmond's clear cultured tones started breaking through as the sword began to slide free of the wooden sheath. "I promised Sandra I wouldn't die, and, by God, I'm not going to..."

The blinding white light rushed through the room and swept over the two grievously wounded men dropping them into the world of oblivion as quickly as it had all of the others. Finally everyone was accounted for. All of the players had been brought back together, and the critical rip in the fabric of Time shuddered as the five conjoined souls passed through on their way back to another time where things were much simpler, and much deadlier; however, this time the rules had changed and Fate was not involved. This time, it was up to the players, themselves to set aright that which had gone awry.

The race for a simple man's Justice had begun, and only the wits and intelligence of those involved would be able to dictate the outcome.

_I was writing and got this way bizarro idea... and I just couldn't help myself... I was dancing all over the house like a fool. My husband and oldest son think I am totally whacked out. But I couldn't resist. This should take 2 maybe 3 chapters. I'm so excited I almost peed my pants (j/k)  
_

_Review Response:_

_Half-breed-demon-fox: __I have been nicknamed 'the dragon-lady' for about 15 years now. I got my tattoo 3 years ago, but I've been collecting dragon's and dragon paraphernalia since I was about 12. I had one friend who said I was 'dragon wicked', and she called me 'Madam Dragon'. Anyway... :) I hope you liked these two chapters. I had fun with them. God Bless Kid._

_Lere: I loved that site you sent me!! I found a whole bunch of really interesting stuff that I am thinking of putting on my webby. You are always thinking of me... I love you, sweet friend. How was your testing? I have been thinking about you the last few days wondering how you did because I have been so bad in not writing to ask you... sweat drops. I hope you can forgive a lax old lady who should be more on the ball with her friends lives. Thank you for always reading. I look forward to you being there. You mean so much to me. God Bless, Lere._

_JD Fielding: I hope this finds you in better spirits that the last time I heard from you. I have spent so much time thinking about you, dear one. I have worried over you as well. You are such a good person, and you have so many wonderful gifts to offer the world. Never give up, and never give in. You are a valuable and important person in my life. _

__

_I am glad you liked the last chapter... I hope you are equally as entertained with these two. I really went off on a loopy spin, but it just hit me out of nowhere and screamed to be written... so I had to do it. I am gritting my teeth in anticipation of the reviews hoping that I didn't go too far. I guess we'll see. Take care, dear friend. Until we meet again._

_Tsuki-san_

_Kagura: The little one-two poem... that cracked me up. Shades of 'Freddie' coming at me. I thought I'd LMAO. You are the absolute kick in my butt, Girl. Don't you ever change. I hope you liked this... it's a BIIIIG reach. But I just couldn't help myself. Love and hugs... tuski_

_Catti-dono: I can hardly wait to see what you're going to say... as for the ideas you say you are having for more stories? Send them to me. I can always catalogue them. You know how much I love your ideas. ((((HUG)))). God Bless sweet friend. Tsuki-san_

_Rain Angst: I like it when I can make you cry. Go curl up in that cabin in a warm old quilt in front of the fire. I can see you like that. Hope you liked these chappies. Take care._

_Unknown beedee: Oh so glad to hear you have started a new fic!! Can't wait to read it. Thanks for reading... glad you thought the 'in skull' banter was funny. So did I when I wrote it. Hands beedee a huge lolly-pop here's your sugar, baby. Love ya._

_De Lazy Lime: ARE YOU SICK!!! You didn't read this in the middle of the friggin' night? What's wrong with you??? j/k LOLOL I'm glad you're over the save Hiko thing... cause he's sorta toast at the moment. Hope you liked these chappies despite the 'chop Hiko up' thing. God Bless you funny kid. See ya soon._

_Midi Tenshi: Computers never let you fade away... they annoy you until you explode and do violence. :) I appreciate your words of support... and I don't know about getting better with every chapter I write. My husband thinks I did some serious weed while writing this last one... bad weed. LOL I guess I'll have to see what happens. As for your fanfics... just keep writing. The more you write, the better you get. It's called practice, and as long as you don't give up, you're getting better. Take care, Tsuki-san_

_FangsOfTheDragon: So I grab you and shake you around a bit? LOLOL Sorry, didn't know my writing had violent tenancies wink. Thank you sincerely for the compliments. They mean so much, and I don't think you are rude. I am feeling better, thank you. I'm just glad I wrote something that entertained you. BTW, I don't remember if I told you before, but I love your name... I love Dragon's. It is so cool. Take care. Tsuki-san_

_xia xue: Yes! You made it! You are so funny, you just kill me. You play a sh-t load of different games, man... that is awesome! My kids have FFX... they keep dying too. Cool game... totally rocks. Actually, I don't read a lot of romance... I like horror and supernatural ficts... but I'm a hopeless romantic at heart. Happen's to ya when you get old... but I'd rather read a bloody vampire book than a friggin' harlequin romance. Tsuki-san_

_Psychotic catster: You crazy little animal. You are so funny, and so cute, and so totally jazz tweaked. You are definitely my kind of kid. I'm glad you still like the story... sorry it took me so long to update... I hope these two chapters didn't freak you out, baby. I hope you didn't go on a sugar overload... I'd miss you if you were gone. Much love... Tsuki-san_

_Lendra-chan: You prolific little scamp!! How am I supposed to keep up with you if you keep starting new fics??? I'm old... My brain can only absorb so much material at one time. LOL. But rest assured... Slowly but surely I will get to them. And I will get to your friend too. I am in the middle of getting my kids back to school... but when things calm down... well, you know. Anyway, God bless your pretty little head. I love to see you in my reviews. Take care you sweet thing. Tsuki-san_

_Sick Galaxy: If you knew how bloody hot it was down here, you'd know how much I appreciated that little fan you gave me wink. I'm glad you liked the 'in skull' conversation. I thought it was cool and I had a blast writing it. I sat in front of my computer giggling. My son thought I was deranged. HEHEHE. I hope I didn't go to far off into no man's land this time around. Anyway, take care you funny thing. I love what comes out of your pockets... can't wait to see what you come up with next. Tsuki-san_

_BelleDayNight: Hummmm.... didn't we just talk... you sound so familiar. LOLOLOL As I said last night, congrats on the excellent grade in anatomy. I knew you could do it... and I know you are going to pass patho too. Then, just think, you get a break... like a week or something right? Oh blessed peace. God Bless dear friend. I'm always here to chat and listen if you need to vent. ((((HUG)))) Tuski_

_Luraia Soul: Thank you, thank you. Tell me, did I go to far into the ozone with this last chapter? I'm really nervous about it. Tsuki-san_

_Dead Raine: I'm glad you love it... did I ruin it??? Tuski_

_RK YGO YYH IY: Awesome name... are those all the fanfics you write or read??? There are anywhere around 3-6 chapters left. That is a guess. Did you like what I did with the last chapter, or did I go too far? Tsuki-san_

_Steph: Hey girly! Glad to see you! Thanks for the compliments and support... you always say the coolest things. I love your reviews. What did you think of the last chapter? Did I go to far overboard?? Tsuki-san_

_RKfaN930: Thank you, I am feeling better, and thanks for the 'good person' compliment. I appreciate your support and your review. It means a lot to me. I don't recall seeing you before, but I'm old... anyway, if I haven't said thank you and welcome before... THANK YOU and WELCOME. :) I hope you liked the last two chapters. I am really hoping I didn't ruin the premise of the story. I'm worried. Tuski-san_

_kean: tell me the truth, my dear friend... did I go to far???_

_Nguardian: Blessed friend... thank you for beta'ing for me. You did a wonderful job. You are becoming a dear friend, and a trusted companion. God Bless you always... I hope everything is well for you... and thank you for following me all over the webb. LOL. Now that's loyalty. I love you, girly. Take care. Tsuki-san_

_Kik-ting: Love to hear from you kiddo. You write the sweetest reviews, and they're so honest. I hope you liked these two chapters. I hope I didn't blow it. Let me know what you think... Please. Tsuki_

_Twishinky: You beautiful woman you... just crossed paths again after what feels like ages and years. So good to see you again. I've missed you. I know how much you love this story... I hope I didn't tweak it so much that it loses it's flavor... what do you think, twishy? ((((HUG)))) Tsuki_

_star0704: Thank you. I don't know when the last time was I received a review that was filled with so many compliments and so much praise. I am almost speechless and I am definitely blushing. Thank you so much. I hope you liked the last 2 chapters. They are definitely a surprise... for everyone, including me. Tsuki-san_

_Monkeechickk02: Hey Girly! Glad you liked it. Hope our little trifle makes a good showing. Loved your chapter by the way in case I didn't tell you. It was cute. Take care. Tsuki_

_HaPPyBuNNy: Hehehehehe...you know, after you said what you did, I had to go back and look. And sure and sh-t. You were right. Just about 80% of the chapters end with Hiko in one way or another... totally bizarre. So did one of these... I laughed my butt off. That's funny. I didn't even realize. What a weird old lady. LOLOL Tsuki-san_

_Kaoru-890: Coolness... if I described it well enough for you to see it in your head, then I did my job. God Bless, Kaoru. ((((HUG)))) Tsuki-san_

_ChibiNoMiko: Were the next chapters worth the wait? Or did I ruin your expectations? I am obsessing over chapter 21. Tsuki-san_

_Ixchen: You got two chapters you bouncing jack-rabbit. Did you like them??? Tsuki-san_

_Pixel-the-evil-fairy: did these last two chapters meet up with the rest? I am really worried about chapter 21. If enough people don't like it, I plan on rewriting it. So, please let me know what you think. God Bless, Pixel. Tsuki-san_

_Alright, I am obsessing about chapter 21. My sweet beta thinks it's fine and that it goes well with the rest of the story. But I am still obsessing. I need honest opinions from you guys. Did I go too far out into loopy-land with it, or does it make sense? If it doesn't, I'll do a rewrite. God Bless everybody. Much love... KnT_


	22. Restorations

**NEWS**----I have said this many times already but it bears saying again. This story has been nominated for Best Drama on the RKRC awards this year. I want to thank the individual who did the nominating. It is a great honor to think that someone thought that much of this piece of my work to do that for me. But truthfully, I owe the success of this story to all of you who have been reading it all these months. If not for you and your wonderful reviews and words of support and encouragement, I might not have kept writing. So this is as much your nomination as it is mine. **_WE_** did a great job. Go vote for us and we'll see what happens. But truthfully, I'm just so honored and humbled by the fact that I got nominated at all . . . the rest is just icing on the cake. God bless you guys from the bottom of this old lady's heart. I love you all. Kanzen ne Tsuki ** 3 3 3 3 3**

**BN:** Hey, the name's Nguardian just wanted to introduce myself, as the new beta for our beloved Tsuki-san. I promise to do the best that I can in order to present a well-edited chapter. This is my first time so please be gentle. Any mistakes due to grammar and spelling, you can blame me, I take full responsibility for that. This BN is already way too long, but I just wanted to thank you on behalf of Tsuki-san and the rest of us who worked hard to present this literary piece to you, for the honour of nominating this story, as she said this is for you. See you later

**_Review Responses at end of Chapter_**

Chapter Twenty-two

Restorations

Sedgmont, New York  
Early Spring, 1818

Elliot March stood looking out across the southeast meadow property that his father had recently purchased. He was planning on turning it into the new church plot as soon as all of the building materials were donated. The new meeting house would take three to six months to build, and the weather was just starting to get warm enough to make the excavation for the placement of the massive footings much easier. Each of the support corners needed to be a minimum of ten feet deep and the time it was going to take to dig them depended entirely upon the weather. 

His sharp blue-green eyes narrowed in retrospect as he considered the extraordinary responsibility his father had entrusted to him. The complete overseeing of the construction of the building, and at the age of twenty-two it was an incredible opportunity for Elliot. It made him feel somewhat proud of himself that his stern and demanding father thought him capable of such an important task, and he had vowed to give it his utmost consideration and greatest effort. After all, it would be an accomplishment that could either make him or break him as a carpenter within the small tight-knit community, and he needed every advantage he was given.

A gentle, yet cold breeze caught the silky length of his black ponytail where it hung between his shoulder blades and playfully tossed it about his neck. It was still early morning and Elliot squinted against the brightness of the rising sun as it peered through the scattered clouds in the sky. There was no evidence of rain or wind in the air, and he smiled. It was going to be a profitable day where the new church structure was concerned. He and Ethan O'Massy had been waiting for a clear day to show up so that they could load up the wagon with digging supplies, round up the workers who had signed on to help with the excavation, and start on the long awaited foundation hole.

As he turned reaching for his horse's reins, a massive pain ruptured inside of his head, and he slumped to the ground cradling his temples in his trembling hands. Low, agonized moans tumbled out of his quivering lips as he curled into a ball shaking with shock, while unbidden tears of pain streaked down his lean handsome face. It felt as if a great fist were closing around his skull and crushing it into useless pulp.

"Dearest God," Whimpering in a frightened voice, he toppled over onto his side and pulled his knees up to his chest in a fetal position. "Help me. I think I'm dyin'. Please help me." Then the blessed darkness came and closed around him sweeping him off into the blessed silence saving him from the pain.

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The pain was so intense that she found herself leaning over the chamber pot in her room and vomiting until her entire body was shaking beyond her control. Her head felt as if it were going to explode and it was all she could do to stagger to her bed and curl up around one of her pillows. As tiny whimpering sounds escaped her throat, she began to pray that whatever demon had seized her, would soon grow tired of this game of tormenting and depart. Thoughts of having the pain go on much longer filled her with the primitive terror of an animal caught in a trap, and she did not know if she could endure the ferocity of its stabbing agony without losing her mind. Tears of pain and fear boiled over her thick black lashes and streamed down her taut features.

But as the world began to dim and fade away into blackness, Cassandra breathed a prayer of thanks to God for his immeasurable mercy in sparing her any further suffering. With a long sigh of heartfelt relief she gratefully succumbed to the oblivion of unconsciousness and allowed her body to go limp beneath the assault of the unknown attack. She looked as still and lifeless as one of the hand-painted porcelain dolls that resided on her wall shelves.

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His mother found him pale and almost lifeless, slumped over the breakfast table with his flawless boyish face buried in his eggs and pancakes. Fresh vomit coated the side of his cheek and his flesh was cold and clammy to the touch. Pulling his eyelids up she had found that his dove soft blue-gray eyes had rolled far back into his head until nothing but the white showed, and she had started screaming for her husband.

Together they had lifted his limp body up and carried him back to his room. After laying him back on his bed, she fetched a cloth and a bowl of cold water and began to wash his face hers etched deeply with worry and fear. Neither she nor his father had heard him make a sound, and neither could remember him saying he felt ill. On the contrary, he had been in excellent spirits that morning laughing and joking as usual. This drastic turn of events was more than frightening . . . it was terrifying.

Nathanial O'Massy left to fetch the doctor. He was not even aware that his only daughter was laying upstairs in her room just as unconscious as his son.

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He had gone out to saddle his horse and then not returned. After more than a quarter of an hour, his housekeeper became concerned and went to the barn in search of him. A startled cry filled the crisp early morning air when she discovered the young School Master lying in an unconscious heap over his horse's saddle. It seemed he had lifted it off its support post, turned around, and then simply dropped it in the dirt and fell on top of it covering it with his chest.

The tousled mass of his heavy red hair lay spread all about him as his cheek pressed its mark into the powdery dirt, and fine streaks of mud clung to his damp cheeks where they were wet. The older woman gently reached out and brushed tangled red strands out of his face so she could look closer and discovered much to her shock that there were tears still oozing from the corners of his eyes. He was crying and completely unconscious.

"Oh me poor, poor, boy." She exclaimed in distress. "What has happened to you? What has happened to you?"

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He was drunk and so close to passing out that the pain meant nothing to him. It was just another inconvenience to deal with as he crawled beneath the quilts of his bed and pulled them over his head. Blessed oblivion was only scant moments away and his father would be otherwise occupied at the church today with Elliot and their building plans. No one would notice his absence for a few hours, so Daniel closed his eyes and drifted off into the darkness without a single care. The pain in his head was as quickly pushed aside and forgotten as it had been noticed. It was just another hangover.

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"What the fu . . . Where the hell am I?" Kenshin sat straight up and despite the severe pain pounding in his temples, gazed in wide eyed confusion at his foreign surroundings. "This is not my room." He muttered more to himself than anything since he was alone in the strange room. "This isn't even the school dorm. What the fuck is going on here? Where is this place, and how in the hell did I get here?" He swung his legs over the edge of the bed trying to be especially careful not to jar or move his throbbing head to fast. But even that much movement sent a wave of nerve screaming pain stabbing through his skull and forcing him to drop his head between his knees as nausea surged up his throat. "Ohhhh shit . . . What the hell happened to my head?" 

"Are ye feelin' any better, Master Edmond?" The voice of an older woman spoke to him from across the room. Kenshin raised his head and located the woman where she stood in the partially opened doorway. Her soft, wrinkled face was wearing an expression of deep concern as her sharp gray eyes raked over his trembling form. "Would you be wantin' a cup of Earl Gray maybe? It might settle your stomach, I'm thinkin'."

"Earl Gray?" He knew he was looking at her like she'd grown two heads, but he couldn't help it. "You want to make me a cup of tea?" _'She called me Edmond . . . what the hell is going on? Where am I?'_

"Aye. You're always drinking it when your stomach gets upset." The woman's eyes narrowed with confused worry and she stepped further into the room. "Are ye alright, Master Edmond? Did you hit your head when ye fell?"

"Hit my head?" He repeated in a dumb, bland voice his own growing confusion becoming evident. "Where did I fall?" _'Boy, did I ever hit my head. I must have hit it damn hard to be having a nightmare like this. Shit! I'm actually dreaming I'm Edmond, or me, or whoever 300 years ago. Geez, can't I get away from this crap?'_

"In the barn," She replied, and then began wringing her hands on the apron tied around her ample waist. "Don't ya remember anything about what happened this morning?"

"I... ah . . . no, I really don't." He started rubbing his fingers against the throbbing on both sides of his head, and a small groan of pain slipped free from his clenched jaw. "Maybe you could refresh my memory." _'Maybe I can wake up . . . I really need to wake up.' _

_  
_"You went out to saddle up Mister Jenner and never came back. I started to get worried when you didn't come in to get your lunch and your coat, so I went lookin' for ya."

"Uh-huh. Then what?" _'Saddle up Mr. Jenner? Please God, please tell me Mr. Jenner is a horse.'_

"That's when I found you passed out in the barn laying face down in the dirt." She was almost to the point of wailing as she wrung her apron into wrinkled knots. "You'd fallen right on top of your saddle. I had to run down the street to Master Harvey's place to get him and his boy to come and help me get you back into the house. I tried to send for Dr. Keysel but he was gone out to the O'Massy's place . . . "

"O'Massy?" Kenshin's head shot up the pain making his vision swim into double and triple images. "Did you say 'O' Massy'?" _'Oh shit . . . I'm gonna be sick . . . I am seriously going to be sick . . . oooooohhhhh noooooo . . . '_

"Why, yes I did, Master Edmond." The old housekeeper looked at him perplexed. "You remember the Bread Maker, don't you?"

Kenshin moaned in misery and just happened to spot what he hoped was the chamber pot. Lurching to his feet, he stumbled to the corner of the room and dropped to his knees while grasping the side of the brass, urn-like, vessel. Almost immediately his stomach contracted violently and evacuated all of its contents spewing everything Edmond had eaten for breakfast that morning into the depths of the brass pot.

"Ooooh God," He moaned as he weakly leaned his head against the wall waiting for the spasm to pass. "Let's not do that again, Eddy . . . Ok."

"Master Edmond?" The light touch of the old woman's hand came in contact with his shoulder as she bent over him. "Are ye alright, Sir? You're talkin' to yourself like you're another person . . . maybe ye should go back to bed and I'll send word to Dr. Keysel to come as soon as he can. All right?"

"Sure, I wouldn't mind going back to bed for a little while, but I don't need a doctor."

"But Master Ed . . . "

"I'll be right as rain with a few hours rest. I don't need a fu . . . I don't need a doctor." He turned and looked up into her pale shocked face and thanked the Lord for the ability to think rationally under pressure, or he may have ended up in the stockades for cursing. Especially cursing with THAT particular word. _'If I'm in Colonial America, I better becareful what I say or I might end up on the wrong end of a rope.'_

_  
_"Well, alright but only if you're certain." She offered him an arm and helped him up. "You just don't seem to be yourself."

"I swear I'll be fine, Mrs.... Mrs . . . " '_Shit! How am I supposed to know her name? Eddy, you tight-ass primrose, where are you when I need you?'_

"Mrs. Connely." Her sturdy arm reached around his slender waist as she helped him walk across the room back to the bed. "I really am worried about you, Master Edmond. You aren't remembering what happened this mornin' nor are ye remembering me own name, and here I've been working for ye these last four years. Oh dear, are you certain I shouldn't call for the doctor?"

"No, Mrs. Connely. I'm sure it's all just temporary. Forgive me about your name . . . I remember it now. I just needed a little prodding, that is all. I'm sure everything will come back to me. Please put your mind to rest and leave poor Dr. Keysel to the people who really need him." Kenshin patted the old housekeeper's hand in reassurance as he thanked her for all of her kindnesses to him, and then he lay back down on the bed, gingerly resting his still throbbing head on the pillow. "I just need to rest, and then I'll be fine."

"Well, alright, Master Edmond. But if you are still acting strange when you wake up, I'm calling for Dr. Keyes." And with a firm nod she turned and marched out of his room closing the door behind her.

"Eddy," Kenshin mumbled under his breath as he surveyed the room. "What the fuck have you gotten me into now, and for that matter, where the hell are you?" Closing his eyes, he forced himself to release the tension in his neck and shoulders by relaxing the muscles one by one. As he felt the tautness leaving his body, he began to wonder about his present predicament, and by way of logical thinking he decided to test a theory. Lifting one hand, he reached across his chest and pinched his other arm . . . hard.

"Ouch! Dammit!" _'Fuck! I guess that proves it, I'm really here. But how did I get HERE, and if I'm here, is Kaoru here too? Is Hiko here?'_ Questions began rolling around inside of his head until soon he was wondering if he and Kaoru had actually switched places with Edmond and Cassandra. _'Are they playing 'us' in 'our' bodies in the future? And if they are, what is happening at the lighthouse?'_ As the memories of the confrontation with Hiko/Daniel began to surface through his conscious thoughts, Kenshin began to relive the sword fight with his step father just as it had taken place; blow for blow right up to the very end.

In his minds eye Kenshin could see the big, dark-haired man as he lay on the floor in the blossoming pool of his own blood, and he remembered tying the tourniquet around the freely bleeding stump of the man's wrist. Then there was the gapping wound in the man's chest that he had packed full of linen to stop the loss of blood there. But as the disjointed images flashed before him, he began to tremble in shock and horror. Suddenly he remembered everything.

"It will never be over, Eddy . . . You 'ere me, me boy? It'll never be over as long as there's breath in this body." Unbelievably, Daniel's left hand shifted to his boot, and before the Angel-wolf or Edmond or Kenshin could understand or react, the hand pulled back and sent the glint of sliver flying through the air dead on its mark.

Pain blossomed inside of the red-haired man's belly, and as his eyes blew open wide in amazement, he felt himself dropping to his knees. His hand reached for the pain and found something solid, he pulled at it, and was surprised to feel the weight of a short blade as it came loose in his grasp. Looking down he saw the dark stain appear on the lower left side of his blue vest, and was almost fascinated as it began to grow larger.

"You fucking bastard . . . " He rasped as he looked up and met the malevolent green gaze of the man he had just saved.

"I told you, Eddy. This will never be over, Laddy . . . never."

"Fuck you, Daniel." The Angel-wolf reached for his katana but his vision began to swim. "I'm going to end this now . . . once and for all. I refuse to let the likes of you win, you Godless sonofabitch." Edmond's clear cultured tones started breaking through as the sword began to slide free of the wooden sheath. "I promised Sandra I wouldn't die, and, by God, I'm not going to..."

"Oh my God," He moaned on a sob of pain and grief. "He killed me. I saved his fucking life and he killed me. No, no, no . . . Oh God. Kaoru . . . Where are you, Kao? Where are you? I need you. Help me . . . Oh God . . . help me." Kenshin rolled onto his side and curled up into a ball of despair. He'd lost everything. 

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"We're all right, Father. For pitiesake, let poor Dr. Keysel go home." It had taken Kaoru and Soujiro about ten minutes to figure out what had happened to them, and even though neither of them had any idea how they came to be in Ethan and Cassandra O'Massy's bodies back in 1818, it was a fact they could not deny. So, together they had somehow convinced their 'parents' that they were probably only suffering from some sort of a stomach ailment or temporary fever and both would be fine with just a little rest. Dr. Keyes, who had been unable to find anything wrong with either young person, was forced to agree.

"Nathanial," The older man dressed in his customary black suit stood up and walked over to the worried parents. "I can't find anything amiss with either of them. It could be the chill that was in the air the last few days as well as the fog and the rain. There have been several people in town who have taken ill over the past several weeks because of the weather fluxuations, so it is not entirely out of the question that your children could have caught something. Considering how much time they both spend out in the elements helping you with your business, I'm surprised they haven't become ill much sooner."

"You are certain, Dr. Keysel?" Nathanial O'Massy cast a worried look over the older man's head in the direction of his children. "Neither have ever been stricken like this before. It was so . . . sudden."

"Yes, I am certain. They just need to be kept warm, and kept inside so they can rest for the remainder of the day. They should be just fine by morning." Dr. Keysel turned to Nathanial's wife, Lydia, who was wringing her hands in her apron. "You mustn't worry yourself so, Lyddie." He chided in a gentle understanding voice. "They are both strong, young people. They will be fine."

"Thank-you, Stanly." She squeezed his hands and tried to smile. "Thank-you for coming so quickly."  
"What's a cousin to do when family is in need, Lyddie?" He leaned into her and kissed her cheek. "You know I always come when you need me."

"God be with you, Stanly."

"God be with you and yours, Lyddie." Nathanial escorted Dr. Keysel to the front door and courteously let him out.

When he returned, Lydia had already shuffled both children off to their rooms with strict orders that they go right back to bed and rest. Both were still complaining of roaring headaches, and each had vomited at least twice since waking up. It was a curious illness, but if the doctor felt certain it was harmless and set itself to rights soon, then he would not worry. After all, Stanly was Lydia's third cousin and had been a doctor for nearly twenty-five years. Everyone trusted him.

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A few hours later Soujiro crept up the stairs and snuck into Kaoru's bedroom. Tip-toeing across the room, he reached the side of her bed without making so much as a board creak, and so when he reached out and touched her arm, he was very careful to do it with the barest of caresses so as not to alarm her.

"Kaoru?" He whispered close to her ear as he stroked the skin of her forearm. "Kaoru, wake up. We need to talk. Kaoru?"

"Hmmmm . . . " Kaoru stirred and shifted her position by rolling onto her side and facing him. Large, round blue eyes opened and peered at him with caution and puzzlement as she tried to make out his features in the dim light of the room. "Sou? Is that you?" She mumbled in a sleepy voice. "What are you doing awake? Do you feel better?"

"Yes, enough that I don't feel like painting the walls any more." He grinned at her as she offered him a disgusted look. "How about you? Are you feeling any better? Is your headache going away?"

"I guess so. At least it doesn't feel like I'm getting crushed in the Gensai's trash compacter any more."

"That's an improvement."

"Definitely." She smiled into his laughing face and raised herself into a sitting position in slow, deliberate movements meant to keep her from upsetting the new delicate balance of comfort she was enjoying. "So, what do you think happened to us?"

"Ummmm, that is a very good question." He stood up and sat down beside her. "The last thing I remember is talking to Cassandra, and then everything went black."

"You were talking to Cassandra?" Kaoru looked at Soujiro dumfounded. "How did you know it was her and not me? And for that matter, what were you doing at the lighthouse anyway?"

"That's a little complicated."

"Well, it doesn't look like we're going anywhere real soon, so tell me what's going on."

"It started after that animal, Daniel, took you and Quii and disappeared into nowhere." Soujiro reached out and took Kaoru's hand as he felt her shivering beside him. "Kenshin went totally nuts. I really thought he was going to lose it."

"He . . . he did?" She asked in a small voice.

"Yes. He loves you, you know. The only thing he could think about was finding a way to get you back. That was all that mattered to him. He couldn't think about anything else." Soujiro watched as Kaoru nodded in silence, but when her hand tightened its grip on his he knew how much Kenshin's devotion was effecting her. "So, he and us guys got together and . . . "

"He and you guys?" She cut him off. "What 'guys'? Who besides you and Kenshin are involved in this thing?"

"Aoshi, Sano, and Ruakii."

"ALL OF THEM?" The stark incredulity in her voice brought a smile of pride to his face.

"Yes Ma'am. All of them." He squeezed her hand tighter. "We came up with a plan to go to the lighthouse and get both you and Quii out."

"Kenshin came down to the pit for us." Kaoru said as she turned and looked off into nowhere. "I remember the light shining down inside and hearing his voice telling me he was there to get us out. I thought I was going to explode with relief, but then, I knew deep down inside he was going to come for me. I knew he was."

"Well, he did, and he went inside alone."

"Alone?" Her face whipped back to stare at Soujiro. "Why in the hell would he go in alone? That's dangerous, Sou. Why would he do that knowing Hiko and Daniel were in there waiting for him? Why?"

"Because he's my brother." Soujiro shrugged and looked away. "Because that's how he does things. He goes first so no one else gets hurt."

"To protect you, right?"

"Yes, to protect us. But he told us if he wasn't back in fifteen minutes me and Aoshi were supposed to come looking for him while Sano and Ruakii went back to the school for help."

"Back to the school? Is he insane?"

"No, he's not insane." Blue-gray eyes filled with fierce loyalty turned and looked deep into Kaoru's face. "He left a note for Master Saitou before we left telling him everything that was going on as well as where we were going and what we were going to do. He didn't want us to be caught out there without some kind of a back up, and he knew Master Saitou would come looking just to find out what the hell was going down."

"He's still playing the 'big brother' and taking care of everybody, isn't he?"

"Yes, he probably always will. But, Kaoru, you have to remember one thing."

"What's that?"

"He came for you. He may have taken all those measures to protect me and the guys as much as he could, but he came for you, and that is the only reason he came."

"Oh Sou . . . What happened? I don't know what happened after Cassandra took over my body. It was like I was in this really bizarre dream and all I can remember are images and pictures. Nothing makes sense. Please tell me what happened."

"Aoshi and I came inside looking for Kenshin . . . it was wicked, Kaoru. The whole interior of the lighthouse was changed."

"Changed, what do you mean changed?"

"Changed, like it was brand new."

"But, how?"

"I don't know. It was like walking into a movie of a ghost story or something. You know, how ghosts drag people into their past life and the world changes to their reality? Well, that is just what it was like. The lighthouse was looking like what it must have 300 years ago. It was beautiful, but that wasn't the strangest thing."

"What was?" Kaoru was starting to feel dizzy and it had nothing to do with her headache.

"Aoshi and I . . . we changed too."

"You changed?"

"Uh-huh. Our hair, our clothes, everything. We looked like a couple of colonial fops complete with flouncy shirts and fancy bow tie things, leather boots and short pants, and ponytails tied up with black ribbons. It was very weird." Then Soujiro turned to face Kaoru and took both of her hands in his. "But that was just the beginning. We were running through the rooms looking for Kenshin when we accidentally found someone we thought was you with Quii, but it turned out to be Cassandra in your body."

"I'll bet that was a shocker." Kaoru offered him a repentant smile.

"No shit, but that was just the first one. When she got a look at Aoshi and me, she went all strange and started talking to us like she knew us."

"What?"

"It seems that you, Kenshin, and Hiko aren't the only ones who are on the reincarnation guest list here. Aoshi and I are just as deeply involved as the rest of you."

"But how is that possible, Sou? I don't understand."

"Well, look at us, Kaoru. I'm your younger brother, Ethan O'Massy, and at some point after you get married to Daniel, I challenge him to a duel because of his abuse and . . . " Soujiro's voice trailed off and he lowered his eyes staring at their hands. "And he kills me."

"Oh my God, no. No, tell me that's not true, Sou. Tell me that's not true." Kaoru's voice rose on a note of panic and Soujiro reached out and pulled her into his arms.

"I wish I could, but Cassandra told me herself that it happened, so who am I to dispute the fact. Ethan O'Massy is the first murder that Daniel March commits, even though it is done beneath the guise of a gentleman's duel."

"Sou, oh Sou . . . " Kaoru broke into tears burying her face in his shoulder.

"There is more, Kaoru, and you have to hear it. It's about Aoshi."

"What? What about Aoshi?" She turned stiff against him as she prepared for the telling.

"His name is Elliot, and he was Cassandra's closest friend from the time they were children. He wanted to marry her but couldn't because of some screwy laws they had back then about older sons and profitable matches. She would have married him as well but her father wouldn't allow it and instead he promised her to Elliot's older brother who stood to inherit the majority of his father's wealth."

"O-older brother . . . ? Are you saying . . . are you telling me that Aoshi is . . . that Elliot was . . . "

"Elliot is Daniel's younger brother, and Cassandra O'Massy's best friend."

"I can't take this anymore, Sou. I can't." Quiet sobs shook her thin shoulders as she sagged against the man next to her. "What happened to Elliot?"

"Cassandra didn't know. He was the one who helped her and Edmond escape Sedgmont after they fell in love, but she never saw him again. However, she believes Daniel probably killed him after somehow making him tell where they had gone too. She thinks that is how he found them."

"Another senseless murder, all in the name of possessing a woman he couldn't have."

"Yes. So it would seem."

"Sou?"

"What?"

"Do you think Kenshin, Aoshi, and Hiko are here the same as we are?"

"You mean, here in this time in their other selves' bodies like we are?"

"Yes, do you think they came back here with us?"

"It would stand to reason. We were all in the lighthouse at the same time, and these five people are all significantly tied together by this string of events that leads up to Daniel murdering Edmond and Cassandra."

"If they are here, we have to find Kenshin and Aoshi." Kaoru raised her head and looked into Soujiro's soft eyes. "We have to get all of us together and figure out what we are supposed to do while we're here."

"I should think that was obvious, Kaoru."

"Obvious? How?"

"We have to stop Daniel from completing the series of murders he committed 300 years ago. We have to stop him from killing Edmond and Cassandra. If we don't, you and Kenshin are already dead and the cycle will start all over again creating another paradox like the one existing within the lighthouse."

"We can't let that happen, Sou."

"No, we can't." He watched the expressions play across her face and felt a flood of relief wash through him as a look of determination settled on her features.

"Then let's go find them." She said, her blue eyes snapping with renewed vigor as she jumped off the bed. "I don't think setting around here waiting for them to find us is going to do any good, so let's go."

"Ok by me." He hopped off the bed and took her by the hand. "Come on, pretty girl. There's no time like the present, and besides that, we need every second we can get."

"You're not just kidding about that." She replied and followed him out of the room. "Let's find Kenshin first, Ok?"

"Ok. Do you know where to look?"

"No, but someone has to know who Edmond Fetlock is. All we have to do is ask if anyone has seen him."

"Good point, just be sure to ask in as vague a way as possible. Remember where and when we are. We don't want to end up in trouble for being improper or unlawful or something."

"Point well taken." She shuddered as a vision of the old colonial stockade passed through her mine. "Well, shall we?"

"After you, Miss O'Massy." Soujiro bowed and waved her on in front of him.

"Smart-ass." Kaoru grinned and smacked him on the shoulder. "Quit showing off and let's go." The handsome boy just chuckled and followed her down the stairway.

They cautiously walked out the front door and into the street. Urgency was of the utmost importance so they hurried off to find someone who looked like they might be willing to answer a question or two. As always, time was against them. It seemed some things never changed.

TBC 

Review Responses:

Thanks to everyone who continues to read this story. And thanks to nameless masses who read in silence and keep coming back. Everyone of you are humbly appreciated, and you are all what have made this a great story. Arigato to the greatest fans in fanfiction. KnT

_**Psychotic-catster:** Yes, I know there are 'E' names abounding in here, but I couldn't help it. They are like my all time favorite turn of the century type names. And they just popped out of my head when I was writing. I didn't even think about it until I went back to re-read what I wrote. _

_You read this on Friday the 13th? Crazy kid. And I'm sorry about the long waits in between updates. I just have so much going on right now it's hard to find time to write. But I promise, I will finish this story. Bless you, you funny thing. Tsuki-san_

_**Unknown beedee:** I know I'm awful. I have your new story posted on my webby but I haven't read it yet. I have a ton of chapters to read on a ton of stories. I need to take one day this week and just set down and read everything. I'm glad you're still here reading. And I'm glad you're back writing. Don't give up...not ever. Tsuki_

_**JD Fielding:** Ah, my beloved JD. My thoughts and prayers will always be with you, dear friend. As well as my unwavering respect. You are one of the Great Ones._

_Thanks for all you say and for cheering me onward. I'm glad you think Hiko/Daniel go what he deserved. Thanks for the compliment on the fight scene. You have no idea how many times I rewrote it because it just didn't sound right. I'm always tickled when I surprise you. HEHEHE And surprising you about everyone's pasts being linked together was great! It is something I just came up on a whim and it seems to work as well as give the story a little more credibility with the ghost thing which is something I've been looking for from the beginning. Glad you approve. See you soon, my friend. God Bless. Tsuki_

_**Kik-ting:** Hiko/Daniel just proved what a truly evil persons they really are. Never trust a man who would make his wife give up her only son just because he won't let the man wreck havoc in his home. Glad your still here, Kik. Tsuki_

_**Reignashii:** To tell the truth, most of my sons friends can't believe I like Anime and video games either. They think I'm the weirdest Mom they ever met. And when they found out I write fanfiction too, well that just sent them all over the top. I guess I'm just the Mom who never quite grew up. I'd rather get on the floor with my boys and watch Anime/Adult Swim than just about anything else. Glad you like the story. Thanks for hanging around to read and review. Tsuki_

_**Lere:** Lere, lere, lere.... my most beloved and sweet friend. I am honestly thinking of a lemon/lime with Edmond and Cassandra before this thing is over... but you know It would have to be more limey than Lemon. But you're right... they do deserve it. Thank you for all of the stories you sent, and the wonderful, excellent fanart links. I am planning on redoing my RK gallary very soon. You are wonderful to me. I am planning on finding a way to incorporate your name Lere into my webby as a contributer to my content. So look out, your going to be there in the future. Also, catti-dono. Both of you provide me with so much stuff. I have to put you on. I love you, you sweet brazilian woman. Tsuki-san_

_**Kaoru-890:** Thanks for the return hug. I like hugs too. Glad you loved the blood and gore. LOL. There will be more in the future. I'm just so happy you're still here. God Bless your sweet face. Tsuki-san_

_**Sakura-chan87:** Ok, ok... I will do a lemon with Edmond and Cassandra. But like I told Lere, it will have to be more limey because of 's regulations. I was half-way planning on it anyway, you two just made up my mind. Little hentai women. _

_**Lendra-chan:** Are you back from camp or wherever it was you went? And by the way, you funny kid. I am not in my 20's or 30's. I'm in my 40's so now everyone can be shocked and appalled. GASP!! I'm even a Grandma with my oldest step-son LOL. My oldest son is almost 18... shudders. You are so funny. I love you. LOL P.S. I can't find your friend, Ditox, on I hope they didn't delete her account or something. Anyway, I tried searching for it and everything, but it won't come up. Could you please e-mail me a link to it. For some screwy reason 'search' isn't finding it for me. It could be all the gliches has been having lately, but whatever, I can't get it. So, please email it to my Ladyinblk4 aol account. Tsukisan_

_**Xia Xue:** I don't read romance books. My mom used to read them 24/7 too. THE WEDDING SCENE?? That is the kewlest! Of course, you're past there now so you know what happened. It was great! BTW, I'll have to look into that fic you mentioned... sounds interesting. So they call you the 'Beast'? Works for me. Everyone should have a good nickname. Mind is the Dragon Lady. Nice to meet you, Beast. - Peace, baby. Glad you liked the update. Hope this one was good too. Catch ya laterz. Tsuki_

_**Steph:** Hey girly! I am so glad you didn't think I went to far. Sano and Ruakii went back to the School to get help. Remember, Kenshin left the note for Saitou? And remember when the five guys had the talk outside of the lighthouse? Kenshin told Ruakii that he would need someone to go for help is something went wrong. Well, that's were he sent them... back to get help. Hope that helps you out. Happy you think it's a great story. God Bless, Steph. Tsuki_

_**Catti-dono:** Oh my lovely friend! You are so wonderful to me. You and Lere are the rocks I stand on. I showed Cameron what you wrote and he laughed. He wasn't even upset you called him 'chan'. He just kept poking it in my face that he saved me from certain death by fans if I hadn't posted the second chapter. LOL. BTW... Like I told Lere, I am going to incorporate your name into my webpage because you and she do so much for me by sending me stories and weblinks and information that helps me out. I want to acknowledge you both for the help you give me. So, once I figure out where I'm going to put it... You are both going up in blazing glory. Thank you for helping me, for supporting and promoting me, and thank you for being one of my dearest friends. I love you, cat. Tsuki_

_**Nguardian:** Hello, you sweet thing. Thank you for being my new beta reader. Thank you for your friendship and the laughs we share when we chat, and thank you for believing in me and sticking with me for this long as a fan. I hope this finds you well, and in finer spirits with less feelings of inadequacy than the last few times we talked. You just remember, high school or not... if you are in college courses now, you are just as smart as those jerks who are already in there. Don't let them intimidate you. You have every right to be there so ignore them and just focus on what is important to you. I believe in you, and pray for you every day. God bless, dear friend. Tsuki-san_

_**MZ AmbER EYES:** I apologize that it took me so long to update again. It seems like my life is suddenly so full of obligations and things to do, I hardly have time to go to the bathroom let alone write. I'm just so glad to see you. I'm always glad to see you. Thanks for being here. Tsuki_

_**Formerly Kuroi Tamashii:** Is this anything like 'The Artist Formerly Known as Prince' ? Just kidding. I like the name. It's definitely one you won't forget easily. wink. I'm glad to see you here. And no, you never told me you were madly in love with Drama and watching/reading about other characters pain/anguish etc. LOL... sick girl. That's ok, so do I otherwise I wouldn't write about it so much. Tsukisan_

_**BelleDayNight:** Oh me Belle. You're back in school again... but at least Patho is over and this semester is much more manageable... yes? And, yes, I know I went 'E' crazy. I don't know why other than they are my favorite turn of the century type guy names, and they just popped out when I was writing. As for the multiple past lives... It was just something I came up with one day out of the blue, and liked. It went back and added somemore meat to the ghost story which is something I really wanted to do... and it seems to be working. I'm glad you approve. I saw your updates, and I swear I am going to get to them soon. I was out of town all weekend, F-M for my husbands birthday, and I need to take just one whole day this week and read. I am so far behind on everything. Like, when am I not, right?. Thanks for being there, Belle. Love you, girl. Tsuki_

_**Rain-angst:** It's almost time for the leaves to start turning orange, yellow, and red around that cabin. And it's going to start getting cold too. Are you ready for the first cold snap of Fall? Hope there is a good wood pile out back and a lot of fresh quilts to bundle up in. Need a book? Glad you liked the chapters. And so happy you're still here. God Bless, Tuski-san_

_**Luraia Soul:** Did you like 'where/when' I took all of them? And did the chapter stand up to your expectation? Tsuki_

_**The Lone Lemon:** Colonial Soujiro AND Colonial Aoshi... yummy! Ahem... cough cough. __Shoot me??? Would I do such a terrible thing as to kill Kenshin?? Me?? Nah..... LOL tsuki_

_**RkfaN930:** I always notice new names. And I notice when they come back. Thanks for coming back. I'm glad you like the story enough to stick around and review again. And thanks for your concern about my health. I appreciate it. It's and up and down battle I deal with one day at a time. God Bless. I hope you liked this chapter. Come back and see me again. Tsuki-san_

_**Kodora Fairy:** Of course a lot of things seem unfinished, sweetie. It's not over yet. There are at least 8-10 chapters left to go. Maybe a few less but there is a lot that still has to happen. I am so happy you think its GREAT, as well as one of the best you've read. That means a lot to me. I hope you come back and finish reading the whole thing. God Bless, Small Tiger Fairy. Tsuki_

_**Paisita:** What is going to happen? Well, honey, if I told you that it wouldn't be a surprise. wink. It is always so wonderful for me to see you here. And may I say, your english writing is getting better every day. You are beautiful. Tsuki-san_

_**Sephiress:** I see you so often on line, sweetling, but a review is still a treat. I love how you word things, and everything you say to me means so much. I hope you know you've been adopted as one of my psuedo-kids. I love you, kiddo. You are one of the lights that shines in my heart. I'm always here for you. Glad you still like the story. God bless, Angel. Tsuki-san_

_**El Captain:** WoW! You came over to read my story. I'm surprised and flattered. The summary got cut off right in the middle. If you go back to the first chapter and re-read the outline at the very beginning, it explains the legend. The summary asks the question 'what happens when Kenshin get's tangled up in the towns oldest ghost story'. I have tried to re-word it about 4 times trying to get that in there, but it keeps going over the 250 word limit. So whenever someone mentions that, I redirect them back to the first chapter. No one ever bother's to read that stuff. Anyway, glad you liked the story. Thanks for reading... that is so cool. I really liked your chapter in the round robin too. God Bless, Captain. Tsuki-san_

_**De Lazy Lime:** Cameron is on cloud nine 'I told you so, Mom'. He is strutting around like his poop don't stink cause everybody is thanking him for making me post that second chapter. LOL Cocky little brat. That's what you get when you let a 13 year old read your stories. LOL_

_I love to see you here, Sara. You are one of my absolute favorite fans and dearest friends. I love your letters and everything. Did I tell you? Catti and Lere have talked me into doing a limey between Edmond and Cassandra... thought your hentai little mind might like to know that. LOL Tsuki-san_

_**Sick Galaxy:** Don't you know ice cream melts in Arizona? LOLOL I had to drink it out of the bucket... but boy oh boy, was it ever good. SMACK SMACK! One of my favorite parts was having Sou tell Aoshi he looked good in green. I giggled the whole way through. Hmmm, sorry about your little bro.... Daniel, eh? Actually, Daniel is one of my favorite boys names... but, oh well. Take care, sweetie. Tsuki-san._

_**Fate's Destiney:** Yes, I am going to keep going. I promise I will finish this fiction. I don't know how long it will take because it seems like my life just exploded into pure chaos, but I will finish it. Thanks for thinking its cool. I hope you hang around for the end. Tsuki_

_**Kean:** Kean, kean, kean... the voice of pure reason and honesy. How I love to see you here. I know you will give me an opinion I can trust implicitly. If you say I didn't go too far, then I will stop worrying. And if you say it is FAN-tastic, then I'm ok. God Bless you, you wonderful friend. Thanks for being there for me. You have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you. Tsuki-san_

_**Midi Tenshi:** My Little Angel girl. I know you hate the cliffies, baby. Everybody does, but sometimes, they happen because I run out of stuff to write. LOL. Oh, and thanks for adding one more puff of hot air to Cameron's already huge head. He thinks he's all that and a bag of chips now because half of everyone has thanked him for making me post the second chapter. I keep hearing, 'see, Mom... I told you so." Arrgh! LOLOL... boy, is he ever 13. I hope you liked this chapter, sweetie. I do so love seeing you here. God bless, Angel girl. Tsuki-san_

_**Pixel the Evil Fairy:** It's the fairy girl again. Kewlness! Thanks for not thinking I blew it with this last chapter. I really hope you liked the one I just posted. I just have to say it again... I love your name. It reminded me of that one movie/cartoon that came out a few years back with all the fairies in it trying to fight off the evil sludge that oozed out of the tree the sawmill company cut down. God, I can't remember the name of it. It had Robin Williams in it as a Bat that had been abused as a lab bat and he had eletrodes or something coming out of his head. I wish I could remember the name... anyway, your name reminds me of that movie. It was a funny movie though it had very heavy environmental undertones. Tsuki_

_**RK YGO YYH IY:** Did you know, on my webpage, I have RK, IY, and YYH fanfiction. And I have RK, IY fanart gallaries Most of the pics in the IY gallary are hentai, and I'm working on a YYH fanart gallary at the moment. Not to big of a YGO fan, but I have a friend who is, and she's getting me into the fanart if not the fanfiction. Anyway... I'm happy that you love my story, and I hope you hang around til the end. Try not to eat so many M&M's. You'll live longer. LOLOL Tsuki_

_**Blade of Fire:** No worries about how long it took you to review. Look how long it took me to update. I'm just happy you're still with me and still like the story enough to let me know what you think. God Bless , Blade. I know school is a pain in the butt. Hang in there. Tsuki_

_**Ixchen:** A spinning mind is a beautiful thing. grins wickedly. Tsukisan_

_**Immortal Blood:** I'm glad you came back, and its nice to know you still love the story. I am continuing and hopefully I will be able to finish it. Thanks for coming back. God Bless. Tsuki_

_**Lemon drop:** I reminded you. Did you like it? Tsuki_

_**HaPPy BuNNy:** You ThInK You'Re GeTTiNg NaUcioS? WoW! Nope! Didn't get this story from anywhere but my own twisted little brain. And baby, is it ever twisted. The only thing I really used was 'The Scarlet Letter' and that was just for some of the old time Colonial laws and treatment of women way back then. They really looked at things a whole lot differently than we do now. But other than that... it's all mine. Don't know where it came from either... just pooped itself out one day, and it keeps on coming. I'm glad you still think it's a great story. Hope you still think so at the end. Love you kid. Tsuki-san P.S. I am not doing your homework. LOL_

**_Twishinky_: **_Dearest Twish... I know you're out there you adorable woman. You are always out there. I haven't had time to go read 'Internal Affairs' since you updated. I am so far behind on my reading that its a criminal offense. I am going to do it though. I need to take one day this week and just read. I love you you sweet thing. Hope life is treating you as well as possible I know how hectic your life is. God bless sweet friend. Miss you too. Tsuki-san_


	23. A Time For Explanations

A/N: Greetings from 'the writers block from hell' world. I've been stuck for weeks. I am so sorry, but my brain just would not regurgitate anything. I got lucky today. wink. I apologize if it is not up to par for my usual quality, but at the moment, it is the best I've got. The windows are starting to open again, just a little bit. Lets all be grateful. KnT

P.S. You guys are the best. I love you. Please forgive an old lady for not doing reveiw responses this chapter. I promise I will with the next one. You guys all know how much you mean to me. Without you, I'd be nowhere. God Bless, Minna-san forever. KnT

Chapter 23  
Time for Explanations 

Place: Saitou's car/lighthouse  
Time: November 1, 2001  
Sunday Morning  
7:18 a.m.

Saitou, Tokio, and Dharma raced out of the house and piled into his silver Ford, Taurus. Cleo was wrapped in her mother's arms and hanging on with all her might as the two of them clamored into the back seat.

"We going after Kenshin, Momma?" Big, blue eyes looked into Dharma's face as the little girl settled into her lap. "We're gonna bring him back, right?"

"Yes, baby. We are going to bring him back, and everyone else too."

"Momma?"

"What baby?"

"I'm scared." Cleo burrowed into her mothers chest as a tiny shiver of fear shook her little body. "I don't want the bad man to kill Kenshin."

"I know, baby." Dharma rocked the little girl as shards of fear and worry stabbed through her mind and heart. "I don't want him to either, that's why we have to hurry. Mr. Saitou?"

"What?" Saitou turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life.

"Do you think we'll be there in time? I mean, will we be able to stop what's going on?"

"I sure as hell hope so, Mrs. Seijuro. Because if we aren't, I may never be able to live with myself." Fury and anxiety mixed and battled within the depths of his dark amber eyes as he adjusted the rear view mirror and threw the car into reverse. "There is something very spooky and very bad going on here, and I intend to find out what it means before someone ends up dead. Especially one of those damn kids."

"Oh God." Dharma buried her face against Cleo's halo of shining red hair as a wave of terror threatened to overwhelm her. "Please let us be there in time. Please, God. Help us get there before something terrible happens. Please don't let my son die."

"Hajime," Saitou turned and looked at his wife as he began to back the car out of the driveway. "Look," She said pointing out the window at two figures running across the snow covered grass toward them. "Isn't that..."

"Ruakii!" Saitou slammed on the brakes and shoved the car into park as he leapt out the door. "Ruakii!" He cried again as relief flooded through his system. "What in the hell..."

"Dad, dad!" Ruakii's voice was hoarse and he was out of breath from running so far, but he managed to shout the acknowledgement back to his worried father. "Hang on, we're coming." In a matter of seconds he and Sano were skidding to a halt in front of the anxious School Master, both panting and spent.

"Ruakii," Saitou's voice was filled with a hundred different emotions as he looked down on his son's flushed face. "Do you have any idea how worried and upset we are at this moment? Where the hell is everyone else, and what the hell is going on? Where is your sister? Where's Quii?"

"Slow down, Dad." The exhausted teenager held up one of his hands attempting to halt the barrage of questions being fired at him. "Calm down and let me explain, will ya?"

"Fine, explain... in a minute."

The gruff quality to Saitou's voice finally gave his son a clue to the real emotions hiding behind the furious mask, and then those strong, corded arms were reaching out and engulfing him in an embrace that nearly crushed his chest. "Dad..."

"Why didn't you wake us up? Why did you try and do all of this on your own?"

"We didn't think you'd believe us, Dad. We were afraid if we came to you for help right away, you wouldn't let us go."

"You're right, I wouldn't have." Saitou nuzzled his nose into the thick brown hair along his son's neck and breathed in the scent of him. "But I might have listened if you guys had given me a chance. I'm not a total asshole when it comes to extenuating circumstances."

"This is a little more than just 'extenuating' circumstances, Dad. We're talking about dead people being reincarnated into alive people, and one of them wants to kill just about everybody."

"Hiko."  
  
"Yeah, only it's not just the Hiko guy."

"What do you mean?" Pulling away, Saitou gazed down into the dark brown eyes that looked so much like his wife's. "Are you telling me there is more than one crazed lunatic out there trying to hurt my kids?"

"Sort of." Ruakii cast a pleading glance over at the silent Sano. 'Help me out, man. I think he's ready to eat me.'

"Sort of?" He roared. "What the fuck does 'sort of' mean?"

"Master Saitou," Sano finally stepped up and put his hand on Saitou's arm. "If you'll just listen, we'll explain everything, but right now, we need to get back to the lighthouse as fast as possible."

"Why?" Amber eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What's going on at the lighthouse?"

"I'm not completely sure, but Kenshin sent us to get you, and whatever help you thought we might need, and now we gotta go back and help him."

"Help him? What in the hell has he gotten himself into?"

"I don't know. But he said if he didn't come out of the lighthouse with the girls in fifteen minutes, Ruakii and I were supposed to come and get you, and Soujiro and Aoshi were supposed to go in and try to find out what happened. Well," Sano looked into the glacial golden stare and tried not to flinch. "He never came back."

"Oh God, no."  
  
The three men turned as one to face the tear filled, terrified eyes of Kenshin's mother. She had rolled the window down so she could hear what they were saying, and heard every word. Now her pale face was an ashen color and her lips were turning blue as the horror of losing both her son's became a tangible possibility to her.

"Dammit!" Saitou cursed and looked back into the anxious face of his son. "We have to go, don't we?"

"Now, Dad. We have to go now."

"Explain on the way. I want to know what the fuck is going on." The three of them piled into the car, the boys crowding into the back seat with Dharma and Cleo. "I want you to tell me everything including who this other guy is that's out there with them. Is he someone we know?"

"No, Dad. We don't know him." Ruakii and Sano exchanged glances. "He's a ghost."

"He's a what?!"

"Ruakii, dear," Tokio leaned over the back of the seat and pierced her son with a shocked look. "Did you say, 'he's a ghost'?"

"Yup," Sano chimed in as he could see Ruakii was starting to get that look that said he was getting backed into a corner. "That's what he said."

"Okay, now Kenshin's letter said a lot of things about ghosts and murder and we are all very confused as to what is going on. Just exactly what is going on, do either of you really know?"

"Kinda," Ruakii looked sheepishly at his mother. "It's sorta complicated, Mom."

"Sorta?"

"What's with all the 'sorts's' and 'kinda's'? Just cut to the chase and tell us what this is all about." Saitou was running out of patience in the face of his son's trepidation, and his worry was mounting by the moment. "We'll deal with the 'ghost' issue when we get there."

"Okay, but you can't get mad, deal?"

"Jesus.... fine, deal. Just spit it out before I go thermal."

From there the tale started to come out in bits and pieces to the best of Ruakii's and Sano's knowledge. At first the adults were more than skeptical, but as the explanation progressed their opinions began to change too. It was just too far fetched to be a lie, and too outrageous to be a game. There was no choice but to believe every word. But, then again, it all made perfect sense once it was coupled with the strange information Cleo had gifted them with that morning about 'the bad man' and who her parents 'should have been'.

"I'm getting to old for this kind of shit." Saitou muttered under his breath as he cast a worried glance over at his pale faced wife. "None of this was in the 'How you raise kids' manual."

"Hajime." Tokio threw him an impatient look. "What is it you are always telling me?"

"Beats the hell out of me at the moment, honey. What?'

"Truth is stranger than fiction."

"Gee, thanks. I needed to hear that just about now." His jaw clamped shut with a loud 'click' and he focused his attention on the road. "I just hope this Daniel and Edmond haven't run into each other yet."

"You mean Hiko and Kenshin, don't you?"

"No, Tokio, I don't. This particular fight sounds like it's been coming for a long time, and there is a lot of hatred built up between those two. If they are possessing Hiko and Kenshin's bodies the results could be catastrophic."

"What do you mean, 'catastrophic'?"

"One of them could very well kill the other, and not only would the ghost be dead again, but the body he's inhabiting is going to die too. Get it?"

"Drive faster."

OooooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooOooooooooooooooo

The room had grown quiet to the point of being eerie and uncomfortable, and despite her usually strong bravado, Quii was terrified. Three of her friends were laying unconscious on the floor behind her, and the rest were no where to be seen. Her small feet padded across the floor as she paced in anxious agitation. She could not decide if she should stay where she was or leave and try to find help.

"Daddy?" She whispered tearfully as she bit on her fingers. "I don't know what to do. I'm scared. Daddy, where are you?" It was almost as if he had heard her because the next moment Quii could hear that beloved, edgy voice shouting her name. Freezing midstride, she stopped and cocked her head listening to the sound trying to make sure she wasn't hearing things, and then it came again only louder–and angrier.

"Quii?! Where the hell are you, little girl? God dammit!"

"Daddy!" Her feet raced to the door and her hands clawed at the knob trying to open it. "I'm in here, Daddy! I'm in here!" Just as the knob turned in her hand and the door pushed loose from the frame, it was seized from the other side and yanked open. There Quii's wild, tear filled golden eyes clashed with the frightened angry amber crystals that belonged to her father. For a split second they absorbed each other and then Quii was launching herself into her father's waiting embrace.

"Daddy!"

"Quii... Oh my God, Quii." Saitou buried his nose in her long, dark hair as he crushed her to his chest. "Oh, little girl. Are you alright? Are you hurt? Did that bastard hurt you, Quii?"

"No, Daddy, I'm Okay. I promise, I'm Okay."

"Thank you, God." The husky voice was all but lost in the chestnut tresses, but Quii felt the tremor that quaked through him as he pressed his lips against her jaw. "You promise you're not hurt?" He pulled back to look down into the elfin face. "You look like you've been through three rounds with your brother... and lost."

"Dad!" A wrinkled nose was his answer as Quii let him know what she thought of that. "You know Ruakii can't beat me. He's a wimp."

"Hey! I resent that, midgit!"

The snide, angry tones of her brothers voice reached her ears and Quii pulled out of her fathers arms, a new look of anxiety covering her face. "Ruakii?"

"Yeah?" He watched warily as she approached him, and as she drew closer he lowered his eyes. "You can let me have it, if you want too." He mumbled in a shame filled voice. "I deserve everything you have to say and more for what happened. It was my fault that asshole got his hands on you. If I wasn't such a prick..."

"You're right."

"I–I am?" His head shot up and he flinched beneath the angry heat in her golden eyes.

"Yes, you are. You are an asshole, and a prick..."

"Quii!" Tokio exclaimed at her daughters language, but Quii didn't miss a step.

"But you're still my brother, and that means I'm going to love you no matter what stupid, mean thing you do to me, but if you ever get in the way of me and a boy I like again, Ruakii. So help me..."

"I won't, I swear... unless he's a real jerk or something."

"You promise? No more 'big bad brother' scenes?"

"I– I promise."

"Were you really that worried about me, or was it just because Sou is Kenshin's brother?"  
  
"Sou? Soujiro?" Saitou looked at his wife and then at Dharma. "Did you know about this?" Tokio shook her head and Dharma offered him a perplexed look. "Great. That is just great. Why do I always find out stuff about my kids like this?"

"Yeah, I was worried about you." Ruakii pulled his shoulders back and glared at his sister. "You're my little sister, that makes you my responsibility whenever Dad's not around, so I got to look out for you and make sure you don't get yourself into a bunch of trouble."

"Me? Get into trouble? Oh please." She laughed. "If anyone is going to get into trouble, brother dear, it is usually you because you're such a jerk."

"Does that mean you forgive me, or what?" He sounded hopeful as he offered her a contrite look.

"Yes, it means I forgive you, but don't you ever do anything like that again, or I'll make you regret it the rest of your natural life. I swear I will."

"You got it, midgit." He smiled and then his face took on a thoughtful look. "I'm always going to worry about you, you know that, right?"

"I–I guess so." A nervous blush stained her cheeks as she looked at a brother she wasn't so sure she knew.

"Good, 'cause you're stuck with me, Quii. I'm the only brother you got, and I don't plan on losing track of you again like I did last night. I don't want anything to ever happen to you again. I–I couldn't live with myself if it did."

"You–you couldn't?"

"No, I couldn't. Is that so hard to believe?"

"Sort of. You always act like I'm such a pain in the ass."

He grinned rakishly. "You are, but that's what makes you my sister. No body gets to me like you do. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"Are you trying to tell me you love me, Ruakii?" Quii gingerly approached the tall dark-haired man she thought didn't care about her at all. 'Was I wrong?'

"Yeah, I guess I am." He reached out and brushed a few stray strands of hair off her cheek as he gazed into her wide amber eyes. "I'm not so good at showing it, and I know that, but I really do love you, Quii. I really do."

"I love you too, you know."

"I know." Her tearful smile made him feel warm all over and he finally did something he hadn't done since Quii was a little girl. He hugged her.

"Okay, I'm ready for hell to freeze over AND pigs to fly." Tokio grabbed Saitou's arm as they watched their children hold each other for the first time in years. "I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it and hearing it myself."

"I know. I wouldn't either."

The strangeness of the moment filled the small confined space of the doorway and everyone grew still allowing it to become what was necessary. But there were still so many other things that needed to be done, and the moment didn't last very long. As a pair of wide blue eyes calmly watched the siblings hug, an idea was forming within the young intelligent brain.

"Where is Kenshin and Sou?" Cleo looked up at her mother and tugged on her hand. "Where is Kaoru?"

Dharma looked down at her small daughter in a flash of bewilderment, and then understanding. Moving past the Saitou family reunion, she stepped into the room with Cleo in tow. The dusty musty odor was strong enough to make her sneeze and cover her nose. Everything was a ruin. Moth and mold infested carpets, furniture, and ragged draperies littered the room and breathing was a difficult necessity.

"Everything is so pretty, isn't it, Momma?" Cleo let loose of Dharma's hand and stepped onto the ruined carpet. "Look at all the pretty colors."

"Pretty colors?" Dharma looked around perplexed. The room was a shambles. "What colors are you talking about, baby? I don't see anything."

"The curtains, they're kind of a red. And the chairs, they're red and blue, so's the rug. And the paper stuff on the walls looks like roses and violets. It's pretty, can't you see it?"

"No, baby, I can't." A shiver laced up Dharma's spine as she considered what this might mean. How was it that Cleo was seeing the room in full color and restoration while she continued to view it as the rotting ruin it was?

"Look, there's Sou and Kaoru!" The little girl broke away from her mother and raced across the room and knelt beside the three fallen bodies. "Momma! They're all asleep."

Dharma had taken off after her child as quickly as she could, and was kneeling beside her looking at the three unconscious teenagers. "They're not asleep, baby. There is something wrong with them."

"Dear Heaven," Tokio scrambled to Dharma's side and looked with growing worry upon the three bodies. "What do you think happened to them? Quii?" She looked over her shoulder and met the frightened gaze of her daughter. "What happened? Why are they like this?"

"I–I don't think you'll believe me, Mom."

"Yes, I will. After everything else that's going on, I promise I will." Pulling Quii down next to her and Dharma, Tokio put her arm around her daughters shoulders and hugged her. "Just tell me."

"It's confusing, Mom."

"I know, honey, but try anyway."

"Kaoru and I... I mean Cassandra and I were trying to get out of the lighthouse like Edmond told us too, and..."

"Cassandra? Edmond?" Saitou, Ruakii, and Sano all knelt down on the opposite side of the fallen teens as Saitou impaled his youngest child with an intense look. "What are you talking about, Quii?"

"Cassandra O'Massy, she's the girl that got killed her 300 years ago. You know, the lighthouse ghost story?"  
  
"Her lover was supposedly the one who killed her."

"That's what everyone thinks, but it's not true."

"How do you know that?"

"Because... she told me." Quii's face took on a look of panicked entreaty. "Daniel March was her husband, but he was a really abusive jerk, and she left him. She fell in love with Edmond Fetlock and they ran away so they could be together, but Daniel found them."

"Are you saying this 'Daniel' killed her?"

"He killed them both."

"No, that's wrong. The lighthouse operator shot himself in the lamp room."

"That's what everyone thinks, Daddy, but that's not what happened. Daniel killed him and made it look like he did it himself. But he didn't. And he didn't kill Cassandra either, he loved her."

"Quii, sweetie, are you saying you've talked to these... these people?" Tokio captured her daughters eyes and bore into them looking for the truth.

"Yes, Mom. Kaoru is Cassandra, and Kenshin is Edmond. It's like they are all wrapped up in the same bodies together jumping from one personality to the other. It's freaky especially when Kenshin talks to himself like he's someone else." This statement earned her several odd looks, but she didn't stop to explain. "Daniel had me and Kaoru down in some cellar pit thing, and Kenshin came and found us and pulled us out. Only it wasn't just Kenshin. It was Edmond too... and something else I've never seen before."

"Something else? What do you mean 'something else'?"

"Another part of Kenshin. It was like... like a... like..."

"Like a demon?" Sano's voice interjected and everyone turned to look at him. "Is that what it was like, Quii? Like something that was so real and so scary you weren't sure if what you were looking at was human anymore?"

"Yeah. It was like that. How do you know?"

"I saw it up close once myself, and everyone in the school saw it the day Kenshin leveled his old man. It's in his eyes."

"That's right. They changed colors, and they looked like... like an animal or something."

"A wolf." All eyes turned to Saitou as his voice slid in under the conversation edges. "It looks like a wolf."

"You saw it too, then?" Sano met the stern School Master's gaze. "You really saw it that day?"

"Yes, Sagara. I really saw it that day, but I wasn't sure what I was looking at. Now I am."

"What is it? What makes him do that?"

"It's his ki. His fighters soul. The tenacity, strength, and cunning of a wolf bonded with one of the most intelligent and gifted minds I ever saw. I though he was just the worst smart-ass, irreverent little jerk I'd come in contact with, but I was wrong. We all were."

"What do you mean, Dad? What were we all wrong about?" Ruakii leaned over to catch his fathers eye. "What are you talking about?"

"His reputation," Saitou replied. "His fucking reputation. It was been built on a pile of lies and cleverly laid plans meant to destroy him and leave him alone in the world. And it very nearly did."

"You know?" Dharma's voice was soft, tremulous as she reached out and grabbed Saitou by the wrist. "How do you know?"

"That all the charges and the conviction against your son are bullshit?"

"Yes. How do you know?"

"I'm not really sure how I know, but it's been staring me in the face for over 3 years and I missed it. I fucking missed it." Piercing amber eyes locked onto troubled amethyst. "It was Hiko, wasn't it? He contrived the entire thing–all except the accidental shooting. I know he was there, but was Kenshin even the shooter?"

"No." The word slammed into the huddled group with the force of a Mack truck.

"Dammit! I knew I was right. I just knew it. So how in the hell did he end up taking the rap for it?"

"It was a deal Hiko made with me."

"A deal, what kind of fucking deal? Give up your son or what?"

"Or he'd kill him."

"Out right?"

"Yes, outright. It was the only option I had that would keep Kenshin alive. If I didn't agree, it would have been only a matter of time until Hiko... until he..."

"It's Okay, Momma. Kenshin wouldn't let Papa hurt him. He's too smart."

"I hope you're right, baby. I hope you're right."

"So do I." Saitou's gaze finally returned to his now silent daughter. "Finish. What happened that made these three end up like this."

"I–I don't know, Papa." Quii wrung her hands as she looked worriedly over Soujiro's relaxed face. "Aoshi went out first. Him and Cassandra were talking and then all of a sudden...bam! He was out cold. Then the same thing happened to Sou and Cassandra. I can't explain it. It was like a big burst of white light that rolled over us and when it was gone, they were like this."

"A white light?" Ruakii looked at his father and the older man just shook his head.

"We need to find Kenshin." Saitou looked at Sano. You stay here with the women, I'm going to take Ruakii and go looking."

"Yes, sir."

"Papa?"

"What, Quii?"

"Edmond and Daniel were fighting when we saw them last. He made Cassandra and I run while he stayed behind."

"Where were they, honey?"

"I'm not sure, but I know we came in here through that door and it was through the hallway somewhere."

"Alright. You stay here with your Mother and help keep an eye on your friends."

"Yes, sir." She nodded and Tokio hugged her close. "Wait, Papa!" Saitou turned back. "You have to know this."

"Know what?"

"They weren't just fighting, Papa. They were sword-fighting–with real swords. They were trying to kill each other. And it wasn't Kenshin and his step-father. It really was Edmond and Daniel. One of them is going to die, Papa, I just know it."

"Swords? Where in the bloody blazes of the 7 hells did they get swords?"

"Quii?" Tokio looked hard at her daughter. "What do you see when you look at this room?" The girl gulped and gazed at her mother nervously.

"Why are you asking me that, Momma?"

"Because, didn't you hear Cleo? She says everything in here is 'pretty', but I can't see anything but a mold and rat infested derelict. Now tell me, what do you see?"

"I see what Cleo sees." Her head drooped and she started wringing her hands again. "Everything looks brand new, and Aoshi and Sou have on some really strange clothes." She looked into her mothers big brown eyes. "You can't see anything?"

"No, honey, I can't." Worried brown eyes met seething amber as Tokio glanced up at her husband. "If they are standing in the past, Hajime, and we are standing in the future..."

"That's insane, Tokio."

"Is it? Where else are they going to find swords except in the past?"

"Ah shit!"

TBC

Gomen Nasai for the time between updates. I will try to get the next one out much sooner as well as include all of the reviewer responses. Again, you guys are the best and you've made this story the unique phenomena that it has become. Arigato my friends. Arigato from the depths of my heart.


	24. Strange Days

11/12/04---This is for **Legolas-Estelstar** who somehow got left out of my review responses. I was doing them for two chapters and got a little confused as to who I had don't and who I had not. This is for you sweetheart. My deepest apologies for leaving you out. Not intentional. Never intentional. You are always respectful and worried about me. I would never forget you on purpose. Can you forgive a flaky old lady???

A/N: This is for everyone who was gnashing their teeth over what was going on in the past with the rest of the players. I had this chapter almost complete when I hit a major wall of dead-head. That was why I wrote the other chapter, but I suddenly received a light of inspiration and finished this. I hope you all enjoy. It may be a bit before you see another chapter. So be grateful for this one. KnT

Chapter 24   
Strange Days

Sedgmont, New York   
Early Spring, 1818

It was crazy. They were walking down a dirt road in the middle of colonial USA. There were men riding horses, hitching posts everywhere, buggies bouncing up and down the street, and people dressed in the old-time clothing they had only seen in pictures and history books. And they were stuck smack-dab in the middle of it, and it was REAL!

"Fine, we're outside, now who do you propose we ask the where-about's of one Edmond Fetlock?" Soujiro was nervous as he wiped clammy hands down the sides of his trousers. "They all look like they'd be suspicious over answering any kind of a question, if you ask me."

"Well, I'm not asking you, now am I." Kaoru gave the dark-haired man next to her a sharp poke in the ribs to amplify her point. "I'm asking one of them, and I'll choose which one, if you don't mind. Sheesh! You're acting more suspicious than they LOOK, Sou. Calm down or you'll have us in the stockades for sure just because you're acting weird."

"Sorry," He mumbled as he shot her an apologetic look from beneath thick brown eyelashes. "I'll try and keep my mouth shut."

"That's the smartest thing you've said since we left the house."

He shot her an irritated glare and kicked a rock with the toe of his boot. He liked Kaoru, but she could sure get bossy when she put her mind to it. He wondered what Kenshin did when she got this way. 'Boy, I can't see big brother putting up with this crap for very long, uh-uh. Maybe he's figured out a way to put her in her place when she gets like this.' Several interesting pictures formed in his mind, and Soujiro let a sneaky smile cross his face.

"I don't even want to know what you're thinking about, Soujiro." Kaoru said eyeing him cautiously. "I've see that look on Kenshin's face before and it never means anything good." She shook her head as a wicked, throaty chuckle bubbled up out of her companion and then gave in to a small giggle herself. "I knew it wasn't anything good."

"Perhaps not, sweet sister, but it was entertaining." Kaoru reached and punched him hard in the shoulder and he laughed as he missed several steps. "What's wrong? Isn't a brother allowed to imagine devious thoughts about his 'pain in the ass' big sister?"

"Pain in the... ewwww!" She snorted in mock irritation. "If we weren't in such a hurry, Sou, I'd show you why Yahiko hates to piss me off."

"I wondered about that, you know." He hugged her and cocked a charming look down into her face. "But I think I'll pass."

"Why, Ethan O'Massy? What on earth are you doing to your sister?" The shrill outraged voice of an approaching woman immediately pulled the two teens apart and they looked sheepishly at the mountain of pale green cloth thundering their way. "You know better than to grab a woman in the broad light of day! How dare you treat your sister as if she were no more than a strumpet on a drunken stroll." When the woman reached them, they were confronted with the severity of a face featuring a stretching black bun, angry green-gray eyes, thin shapeless lips, and a bird beak nose all smashed onto a chubby body that was stuffed into a plain green cotton dress with white pinafore. And to complete the picture, the bonnet tied to her head did nothing but make her face look that much rounder. She looked like a short, mobile landmass.

"Uhhhh... I-I was just trying to help her regain her balance, Mistress," Soujiro frantically wracked his brain for a plausible cause and reason for why he would be acting in such a familiar way with a woman in public even if she was his own sister. "She stumbled on a stone and would have fallen if I hadn't caught her."

"Oh, most definitely." Kaoru chimed in. "You know how Ethan is always looking out for me." She bit the inside of her lip as she played the gamble that the statement was actually true. From what Soujiro had told him about the brother and sisters relationship, she hoped she was right.

"Well, yes." The anger in the woman's eyes faded and she breathed a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you, Young Master, but it did look unseemly from across the street where my husband, Mister Josephs, and I were standing inside the shoemaker's door."

_'__Thank-you,'_ Soujiro breathed a mental sigh of immense gratitude. _'__There is a God.' _"I understand, Mrs. Josephs. Really I do. I can clearly see how it would look to an observer who did not see Cassandra trip and stumble... I am sure it did look quite, eh, unseemly." Offering the posturing woman one of his most charming smiles, Soujiro placed his hand over his heart and gave her a short bow. "It makes me feel honored to live in such a place as _Sedgmont_ knowing there are good, honorable people like yourself that concern themselves with God's good work."

Mrs. Josephs beamed beneath the overt praise and charm of the young dark-haired man never realizing that she was being carefully manipulated with each and every word he spoke. "Why thank you, Master O'Massy." She chortled, in her most friendly voice offering him a very short curtsy.

"You are most welcome." He crooned into her pudgy, blushing face. Then offering his arm he asked, "May I escort you back to the Shoemaker's store and to your Gentleman Husband?"

"O-oohoohoo, yes, yes of course. Why thank-you." She nearly tripped over her own stumbling feet as she all but bounded to Soujiro's side glomming onto his arm like a starving dog pounces on a bone. "What a dear boy you are."

"Thank-you, Mrs. Josephs, but I'm just doing what my good father taught me." And with another tongue lolling smile, Soujiro walked the tamed and tantalized woman back to her husband who thanked him profusely for returning his Lady Wife to him in such a respectable manner. They exchanged a few words, Sou offered Mr. Josephs the same short bow, said his good-byes, and returned to a gapping Kaoru.

"What?" He looked at her raising both of his eyebrows in question. "What?"

"I don't believe what I just saw." Laughter sparkled in her eyes as she took his proffered arm and they continued their stroll down the street. "That was either the most hysterical or the most amazing thing I ever saw. How did you do that? She was ready to tear you to bits over _'__my honor'._"

"Simple, my dear sister." He smiled and looked down at her. "No one has ever been able to resist the Seijuro/Himura charm. Once it's turned on... women are putty in our hands." Sou wiggled his eyebrows and winked. "It's deadly." Kaoru burst into laughter.

"I can't argue with that." She giggled as she looked up and met his mischievous smile. "Kenshin definitely swept me off my feet."

"Yeah," He tipped his head to the side and favored her with a long serious look. "Was it really his charm that got to you? For some reason I got the idea that it went way deeper than just 'charm' and 'good manners'."

Kaoru blushed and looked away. "It was, and it is." A wistful look crossed her face and she started to chew on her bottom lip. "It took a while before he ever did try the 'charm-thing' out on me, and by then we were already close. But you are right about one thing, Sou."

"What's that?"

"It is deadly." They shared a little laugh together over that intimate admission, and then Kaoru suddenly grew quiet. "Damn," She cursed under her breath.

"What? What's wrong?" Soujiro stopped walking and looked at her frustrated face.

"We could have asked that woman were Edmond was, and we didn't." A wicked smile crossed the handsome face in front of her and Kaoru gave Sou a sideways look. "What did you do, Sou?"

"I told them someone had come into the store asking about him and had left a message for him that we needed to deliver but I was not sure where he lived. Mrs. Josephs was more than willing to give me directions to the 'School Master's' house."

"_Sch-school Master?_" Kaoru gave Soujiro an incredulous stare. "Kenshin is stuck in the body of a school master??"

"So it would seem... that is, if he is here with us."

"He is, Sou. I won't believe anything else."

OOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooOOOOOOOooooooooo

A worried Mrs. Connely walked through the School Master's house on her way to answer the front door. The Master was acting so strangely this morning and she was almost at her wits end wondering what to do, and the knocking at the door was a potential avenue of assistance.

"Miss O'Massy!" She exclaimed, when she saw the blue-eyed woman. "Oh my, you and your brother are the answers to me prayers."

"Why?" Kaoru demanded, as anxiety rushed through her system. "What is wrong? Has   
something happened to Ed... Master Fetlock?"

"Oh yes." The old woman wrung her apron in distress. "He's suffering from some sort of a brain seizure or something, and he won't let me go fetch Dr. Keysel. I'm so afraid that something terrible has happened to his mind." She pulled a corner of the apron to her face and wiped away the sudden tears that fell from her eyes. "He fainted in the barn tryin' to saddle his horse, and then when he woke up he didn't even know my name and I've worked for him these past four years."

Kaoru and Soujiro exchanged a brief, elated look and then Kaoru reached out and grasped the old woman's arm in a gentle hand. "Where is he now?" She asked, careful to refrain from using the old woman's name since she didn't know it. "Can I see him?"

"He be up in his room, Miss Cassy, and that be the worst of all of it."

"What do you mean, that is the worst of it?"

"He started crying like a little boy, curled himself up into a ball on his bed and now he won't even answer me when I talk to him. I just know he's losin' his mind. My poor, sweet boy. Ohhhh..." Mrs. Connely buried her face in the apron and sobbed as thoughts of her precious red-haired school master being chained to a wall while he moaned and cried in madness formed in her mind. "Whatever will we do?"

"Can I see him?" Kaoru asked again with a little more force in her voice. "I'll take Ethan with me and maybe the two of us can make some sense of this. Alright?"

"Yes, yes. Of course. God himself must have sent ya here, Miss Cassy. He knows how the young Master feels for you."

"He-he does?" Kaoru stuttered and cast an anxious look at the wide-eyed man next to her. "Whatever do you mean by that?"

"Oh now, don't you be trying to fool Mrs. Connely now, girl. I've eyes in my head and a heart in my chest albeit they are both old and seen better days, but I know love when I see it, and I've watched the two of you. I know." A conspirital glint of secrecy glittered in the old eyes as Mrs. Connely turned to lead the two stunned teenagers up the stairs. "I'm thinking Master Edmond might be thinking about asking your father for you, yes I am, and wouldn't it be grand." Her voice trailed off into fanciful mumbling as she searched her pockets for her keys.

"He was acting so strangely," She tried to explain while unlocking the door. "He was talking to himself like he was someone else, and well, I just thought it was perhaps best to keep him locked in his room until I knew what was going to happen."

"I see." Kaoru pursed her lips but said nothing else.

"I couldn't have him runnin' loose screaming and pulling his hair out in front of the whole colony if it came to that, now could I? I t would have been humiliating for him; him bein' such a proud and educated man as he is. I just couldn't let that happen."

"We understand, Mrs. Connely." Soujiro finally intervened when it appeared the old woman might prattle on forever. "Can we see him now, please?"

"Yes, yes. Forgive me." She opened the door and peered inside. "He's still on the bed." She reported backing out of the way. "May God have mercy on his soul." She whispered and crossed herself before walking away. Her pitiful sniffles followed her all the way down the stairs.

"Sou..." Kaoru looked frightened as Soujiro began to push the door open. "What if..."

"Don't go there, Kaoru." Gentle dove gray-blue eyes snapped hard as flint. "He's going through the exact same thing we were only he didn't have anyone to help him figure it out. Plus, we don't know what was going on with him when he got blasted back here. Anything could have happened so just keep your wits and don't go getting all shaky on me. We have to do this together, alright?"

Kaoru nodded and swallowed hard against the lump forming in her throat. "Alright, let's go. I have to see him, Sou. I have to see him now."

"I know, me too."

Their first sight of the figure laying on the bed was a terrible one. He looked exactly the way Mrs. Connely had described. He was rolled up into a fetus ball with his back to the door and the shattered sounds of his sobbing breaths echoed through the small room.

**"_Kenshin!_"** Kaoru cried in a small, horrified voice as she raced across the room and pounced on the bed behind the trembling figure. "Kenshin, it's me, it's Kaoru." Grabbing him by the shoulder, she tugged hard pulling him over onto his back and then gasped in shock as she looked down into the beloved face. "Kenshin!" Pale cheeks, matted red hair, and a look of such deep sorrow etched into the handsome features sent her into an emotional overload.

Her hands cupped his face and she frantically began to kiss the tears away letting her lips and the tip of her nose erase the salty wetness from his skin. And all the while she cried little bits and pieces of words and phrases over him as she struggled to comfort and reassure.

"Baby... I'm here... I'm here, look at me. Kenshin... I love you... honey... Oh God, please... look at me, Kenshin?"

Thick brown eyelashes fluttered beneath her lips and then the fragmented voice of pain rose between them. "Kao... are-are you r-real?"

Kaoru pulled back and stared down into the tear filled amethyst eyes that stared back with a fear she had never seen in them before. Gently she leaned down and pressed her mouth back into his while her hands tenderly smoothed the matted hair off his forehead. "Yes, baby." Her soft voice filled his mouth as she nuzzled his cheeks. "I'm real, and so are you."

"And-and we're together, Kao? Are we really together?"

"Yes, we are together. See? Can't you feel this?" She grabbed his hand and squeezed it with her own watching as he struggled to understand and comprehend what was happening. "We are all together, Kenshin. All of us, but most important... you and I are still together."

"We are?" A trembling hand reached up to touch and cup her face as his eyes urgently searched her face for the truth he so desperately needed to hear. "I haven't failed you?"

"Noooooo," She turned her face into his hand and kissed the calloused palm and then she looked hard into his confused eyes. "You have never failed me, sweetie. Never, and you never will."

"I'm not dead? I didn't leave you behind?" The choked words tore at her heart and she cast a horrified look over her shoulder at Soujiro.

"No, you aren't dead, and you didn't leave me behind. I'm right here in front of you, baby. I'm right here."

Kenshin groaned and wrapped his arms around Kaoru's neck and shoulders pulling her into a crushing embrace. "I had the worst dream, Kao. I dreamt Daniel killed me. I swear, it was so real. I remember everything."

"What do you mean he killed you?"

"We had a horrible sword fight in the lighthouse and I cut off his hand."

"You cut off his hand?!" Soujiro exclaimed as he pounced on the other side of the bed

"You cut off Dad's hand?"

"I guess so, I remember seeing it laying on the floor all covered with blood."

"Oh my Gosh!" Soujiro gripped his brothers trembling shoulder and pulled him away from the comfort of Kaoru's warmth. "What else do you remember? Kenshin? What else happened?"

"I– I remember tying a tourniquet around his wrist to stop the bleeding, and then..." A frown crossed his face as he struggled with the foggy memories. "There was a wound on his chest, a big wound. I stuffed some table covers in it and tried to stop the bleeding."

"You tried to save him?" Soujiro stared into his brothers pale face and then up into Kaoru's shocked eyes.

"After everything you've been through with him, you tried to save him?"

"Yes, I– I couldn't live with myself if I just walked away and let him bleed to death. It wouldn't be right. But, now that I think about it, maybe I should have."

"What do you mean, Kenshin?" Kaoru brushed the hair out of his troubled eyes and helped him set up. "What happened?"

"I thought he was unconscious but when I started to leave, he moved." A trembling hand reached up and yanked its way through his thick red hair. "So I went back to see what was up. That's when it happened."

"What?" Soujiro rounded the bed and sat beside his brother. "What happened?"

"He pulled a knife out of his boot and threw it at me. It was so fast I didn't even have a chance to think about it."

"A knife?!" Kaoru's voice rose on a near hysterical note. "What knife? Where? Where did it hit you? Oh my God, Kenshin!" Her hands started to race over his body looking for a wound that was not there. "Where is it? Where's the wound?"

"Kao, honey," He captured her hands and pulled them both to his lips. "It's not there, the knife, I mean. It's not there."

"Where is it then?" She was frantic.

"In my gut over here on the right side somewhere. I remember looking down and seeing it there, and then everything went black. I thought I was dead, I really did."

"But you're not, you're not dead. I won't let you be." Tears started to run down her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her nose against his cheek. "You can't be."

"Hey, calm down," he gently rubbed her back and nuzzled her forehead. "You have to explain to me what the fuck is going on because I'm clueless here. As far as I know, I just fell down the rabbit hole in 'Wonderland' and I got no idea in hell how I got here or even where here is." Turning, he looked at Soujiro. "By the way, where the hell am I anyway?"

"Weeellll, that's kind of a long story, Kenshin. Are you sure you're up to it?"

"I'm here, aren't I? I better be up to it."

"Good point. Okay, here goes, but you better hang on to your ass, because I don't know if you're going to believe me or not."

"I don't know if I have much choice, Sou."

"Another good point." From there Soujiro and Kaoru did their level best to explain to a wide-eyed Kenshin what they thought happened at the lighthouse and why they were all in _Sedgemont_ inside of their counterparts bodies.

"Are you telling me that both you AND Aoshi are involved in this mess just as much as Kao and I?"

"Yup, that's what I'm telling you. And as far as I can tell, if we don't figure out what we are supposed to do while we're back here, everything that happened in our time is going to happen all over again and you and Kaoru will never be together. At least, that is what I have figured out this means."

"Shit." Kenshin cursed and stood up to walk into the center of the room while raking both hands through his hair. "That has to be what it's all about. We must have been brought back here to stop something from happening, it's just a matter of discovering what that 'something' is."

"That was pretty much my feelings on the matter." Soujiro nodded and cast a worried look toward Kaoru who was still setting on the edge of the bed. "What do you think?"

"It has to be, but there is just one problem with your idea that I can see."

"What?" The brothers voiced together as they both looked at Kaoru's concerned face.

"Where's Aoshi?"

OooooooooooOoooooooooooOooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooOooooooooooooooooOoooooooo

His head was splitting and the urge to vomit was uncontrollable so when he struggled to his knees, that was the first thing he managed to do. Emptying the contents of his stomach onto the patch of grass beneath him with harsh, lusty spasms that left him feeling weak and lightheaded was almost more than he could handle in his current condition, but he managed to remain conscious and alert throughout the ordeal. Once he was finished, Aoshi moved away from the foul mess he made and spent the next few moments trying to clear his head with several deep breathing sequences meant to center him and focus his ki.

'_Where the hell am I?_' He thought as he pressed clammy palms against the sides of his head. '_What happened? Where are the others?_' It had taken him on a brief moment to realize he was no longer inside the Lighthouse and that his friends were no longer with him. To his utter surprise he found himself in the middle of a grassy field beneath an azure sky. The air around him was slightly chilly but it was fresh with the scents of damp earth and wild flowers.

'_How did I get outside, and where is this place?_' His icy blue-green eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he looked around him trying to find a familiar landmark, but there was nothing that he recognized. _'There must be a logical explanation for this, I just have to remain calm until I can figure out what it is._' Waiting for a few more moments for the headache and nausea to pass was not going to make any difference one way or the other, so Aoshi made himself comfortable on the grass and gazed up into the cloudless sky and put his mind to work on a solution for his current predicament.

'_Let's see... I recall quite clearly being in the lighthouse with Soujiro and we were looking for Himura. Hmmmm, I also recall that the interior had somehow been altered to look fully restored and that our clothing was changed as well._' Looking down at himself, Aoshi took note that his clothing had changed once more and he was wearing a dark overcoat, black breeches, knee high leather boots, and what appeared to be a white shirt with lace cuffs (if he were to believe what he was seeing hanging out of the coats cuffs). _'Alright, this is strange but acceptable considering what I already know, now what else was there?_' He pursed his thin, well-shaped lips as his highly analytical mind went back to work on solving the mystery of his surroundings. '_I remember running through the rooms... we heard screaming, that's right. We heard a woman screaming and ran in the direction of that sound. That is when we found Kaoru and Quii. Only it wasn't Kaoru... it was Cassandra in Kaoru's body_.' Ignoring the pain that pounded in his temples, Aoshi sat straight up and gapped at his own discovery.

"Cassandra was in Kaoru's body." He said it out loud as if that would make it more real. "Shit, and she called me something, God, what was that she said. What did she say to me?" Growling in frustration he fisted a hand and drove it against his forehead as if that would force the memory out. "What did she say..."

Suddenly his clear, blue-green eyes blew open wide and Aoshi froze, his face turning pale as mother's milk. "I remember," He whispered to himself in a quiet and frightened voice. "She called me '_Elliot'_, and she knew me. Cassandra knew me. She knew Soujiro too. She called him '_Ethan'_ and said he was her brother... Oh my God. We're all in this together. All of us. But who am I? Who is 'Elliot' and what does he have to do with Cassandra and Edmond?" And then Aoshi's face contorted with anxiety as another thought occurred to him. "What does he have to do with 'Daniel'?"

Aoshi shot to his feet and looked around him frantically. Just off to his left, grazing quietly as if there were nothing wrong with the world at all, was a horse. Saddle, bridle, everything he needed to ride. _'__Of course it has everything you need to ride it, idiot._' He chided himself harshly as he strode over to the animal. _'__It's your fucking horse_.'

Swinging up into the saddle, Aoshi gently nudged the animal into a loose canter across the grassy field in the direction that seemed the most logical. How and why it seemed the most logical he did not know. It felt that way, so he went with his feelings. They were all he had to go on at the moment so he trusted them. Something told him that he would find some of the answers to his questions in this direction so his kicked the beast into a gallop and lit out over the rolling hills.

"I can't be the only one here," he gritted through his teeth as the cold wind bit into his flesh. "I just know I can't. This whole thing has more to do with than just me so I can't be here alone. Someone else must be here with me, but who?" Somehow he felt he would find out who when he reached the end of his ride.

OooooooooooOooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooOooooooooooooooooOooooooooooooooOooooo

Kenshin, Kaoru, and Soujiro decided it was imperative they find Aoshi but none of them knew where to look. Soujiro was the only one who had the full detailed account from Cassandra about who everyone was so he finally suggested that they go to the church and inquire. After all, Elliot was the Reverends son and surely the old man would have some idea of his whereabouts So, with that thought in mind, Kenshin made an excuse to the frantically worried Mrs. Connely about needing the Reverends advice concerning his memory lapse and unstable emotional state and the three of them departed. It was the only thing he could think of.

"Where are you, Eddy, when I need you?" He muttered in exasperation as he closed the front door behind him. "The old woman is either going to be the death of me or she's going to drive me insane. How in the hell did you ever put up with her?"

"What's that, Kenshin?" Kaoru put a questioning hand on her boyfriends arm as he caught up to her and Soujiro. "Did you say something, baby?"

"Nah, nothing important." He tried to give her a reassuring smile but it was a feeble attempt. "Do either of you know which way we're going? I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Get what over with, Kenshin?" Soujiro raised an eyebrow at his brother. "We don't even know what the hell we're doing here let along what we're supposed to do now that we're here so how can we hurry and get it over with?"

"Shut-up, Sou, and let's just find the fucking church, alright?"

"Yeah, whatever. Boy, time travel sure didn't do anything to sweeten your disposition did it?"

"Sou," Kenshin's voice was threatening as his eyes danced an violet-gold message of impatience at his brothers irritating attitude. "You're starting to get on my nerves with your bullshit. Just find the damn church."

"Yeah, yeah, lighten up will ya. It's not the end of the world... yet."

"Sou!" Kenshin growled and reached out to thump the source of his pain.

"Sorry," A good-natured chuckle followed the half-hearted apology as the teen hopped out of the way of his brothers backhanded swipe. "Just trying to add a little humor to the situation. You two are looking so glum you'd think we were all dead again already, sheesh!"

"Well if you aren't a little more careful, pretty-boy, you're the one whose gonna be dead again. Now cut it out. I'm not in the mood for your crap."

"Fine, whatever... but one day you'll be glad I was around to provide comic relief at times like this."

"I'll try to remember that when I'm wringing your neck." Kenshin muttered and Soujiro burst into laughter leaping away from his scowling brother before dancing back to fall into step beside him.

"Ah, you know you'd miss me if I was gone."

"Yeah, for about _**five**_ minutes."

Kaoru dissolved into laughter at which point Kenshin couldn't help but relax a little and find one of his special smiles just for her. The layer of icy fear and worry that had encased the young redhead was finally cracked and some of what was human inside oozed out and wrapped itself around the two companions he walked with. They were, after all, two of the people he loved the most.

"Alright, you win," a low chuckle accompanied the admission. "A little bit of comic relief isn't such a bad idea at a time like this. Just don't go overboard, Okay? We have to keep a serious frame of mind if we're going to get out of this alive."

"I know, Ken," Soujiro draped an arm around his brother's broad shoulders and hugged him. "But you have to have a clear perspective to do that and you can't if you're all tied up in knots. You of all people should know that."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for reminding me."

"No prob."

The horse and rider came careening around the corner like the hounds of hell were barking and snapping at their heels and the three teenagers had to lunge backwards to keep from being run down. As it was, the horse was just as startled as they were and he shied away wildly rearing into the air nearly unseating his dark rider.

"Whoa! Whoa!" The dark-haired rider shouted as he pulled on the reins and tried to bring the large animal under control. "Whoa, dammit! I said, Whoa!"

Kenshin could see that the rider was precariously close to being thrown and, throwing caution to the winds, rushed forward and grabbed the horse by the bridle and pulled down.

"Whoa, boy!" Kenshin cried in a loud voice as he pulled on the bit forcing the horses head down toward his own knees. "Whoa!" Between the two men the struggle to calm the beast was made simpler and in no time, the flailing hooves were nothing more than dancing toes in the dust.

"Are you alright, Sir?" Kenshin asked as he stroked the horses velvet nose in an effort to calm him down. "You almost took a bad one there."

"Yes, I very nearly did. Thank-you for your assistance. I am most grateful." The cultured tone of the voice as well as the tenor struck a cord of familiarity within the redhead, and he stepped sharply away from the horses head to stare up into the face of the man setting on the beasts back, and as surprised violet eyes met wide blue-green, the formality of the situation was shattered by the shout of one single word.

"Aoshi!"

TBC

Review Responses

**Pixel, the Evil Fairy:** Thank God for remembering 'Fern Gully'. I wracked my poor abused brain for days. It was a funny animation–I remember watching it with my boys when they were little. Very heavy on the environmentalists issues, but it was still cute. LOLOL

I'm glad you like my 'Saitou'. Actually, Saitou is one of my favorite characters. He's edgy, he's snide, and he's an ass who has the quality of being there when you need him the most. My kind of guy.

**Kik-ting:** Mariko, dear–don't worry about not reviewing sooner, I just love getting your reviews whenever I get them. You make me happy. And Yes, I think it would be very strange to wake up and find myself in a strange century with a stranger looking at me...however, if it was a gorgeous man, I could deal with it. wink.

**Deliriou599:** Glad you like the mystery, but the point of the alternate universe was so I could get them out of Japan and make them somewhat different people. I'm still very flattered that you like the story so much. I hope you continue to do so.

**RKfan930:** What a glowing/fantastic review!! WoW!!! I blow a lot a people away when they find out that I an old lady with teenagers. LOLOL and then eventually those people start calling me 'mom' and I get an adopted child. I think I'm up to about 8 now or something. But I don't mind, I love teenagers, their a blast. I hope you stick around for the rest of the story. It's getting ready to start winding down.

**Lynn Minmay:** four days, eh? Wow! Now that perseverance. And I'm flattered and honored that you enjoyed the story that much to stick with it. I hope you come back for the rest. God Bless.

**PhoebeOtaku:** I have always loved movies and books that time-hop. Glad you like it too.

**BelleDayNight:** Ah, Belle... the wicked task master. Hehehehehe.... did you like this chapter better than the last? I got everyone back together again and I was thinking about you almost the whole time I did it. Just imagine that? And I was also thinking about 'Saitou's Ranch' because that was before I finished that chapter. LOLOL I just think about you all the time.

**Luraia Soul:** How on earth am I going to be able to remind you who is in the past and the future when it is going to take all I've got to keep myself oriented to the reality of things? LOLOLOL I think I've got like three sticky notes taped to my computer already that has stuff written on them concerning who is where. Pathetic, ne?

**Kean:** Kean, dearest, has the cloud of confusion lifted? Are you oriented with me to what's going on or have I left you in a whirl of 'what the...'. It would appear (for the moment knock on wood) that my writers block from hell has disappeared. I have been most prolific the last few days and I have updated almost everything I own (or have it ready to be updated). Thank you for being so supportive, my shin-yuu. I need people like you to keep me honest with myself.

**Aine of Knockaine:** LOLOLOLOL I"ve been 30 for 11 years now. Hehehehehehe Nice to meet another age stretcher. My sister has be 35 for longer. Thanks for your encouragement, and as for Trigun... never heard of it. Is it on Cartoon network?

**Rain angst:** I love you, kiddo. I'm just so glad you love the story and keep coming back to read it. Keep the hot chocolate warm, I'll bring marshmellows. wink

**De Lazy Lime:** So you want me to kill of Daniel/Hiko, eh? Hehehehehe... I just got a review from a young lady who read up to chapter 11 who was 'sickened' by my portrayal of Hiko. I don't think she would agree with you, baby. LOL I hope you liked this chappie. I finally got everybody back together. Whew!

**Erica6060:** I hoped you liked the new chapter. Thanks for reading.

**Lendra-chan:** Alendra, my love—it's so goooood to hear from you, sweetie! Glad you liked the chapter. I just read the new one of yours on 'Waterfall' and it was fantastic! I'm so pleased you are still reading and enjoying this story. Warms the old lady's heart, that it does. Say hello to Ditox, and tell her I want to see some new work on her stories. They are GOOD!

**Psychotic-catster:** OMG! Someone let you out of your cage! LOLOLOL j/k. You know I love you, you crazy little woman. I swear, my reviews would be totally incomplete and hollow if I didn't hear from you. You are the greatest, and you make me laugh. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry it has been so long in the coming.

**Kenji25samx:** Thank you so much. What a nice person you are. You said such wonderful things about me and my writing. And thank you for your compliments on the story plot as well as the imagery I am trying to establish and maintain. I'm glad that I succeeded in entertaining you. God Bless, Sweet soul.

**Immortal Blood:** I can't get enough of your name. Everytime I read it I get chills. It is just that great. I know the last chapter was all explanations, but there needed to be one. I was getting a lot of letters from confused souls. :( I hope you enjoyed this chapter better. I finally got everybody back together. Peace Out to you too.

**Lere:** God Bless you, my Brazilian friend. I was going through pictures on my computer today looking for stuff for my webpage, and I found the two you sent me of yourself. I actually got tears in my eyes because you are so beautiful and so special to me. I missed you, and I wished there was a way I could just hop out my front door and go see you. When I post this chapter, I do it with you on my mind more than anything. Love you, Leticia

**JD Fielding:** JD, my shin-yuu. I found the C2 community, Foxgloves and I joined. :) I haven't read any of the stories yet, but I plan to. Botan and Kurama forever. I am going to be opening a new gallary on my webpage... just for Kurama/Youko. Do you know any good gallary sites with pics of him/them?

Thanks for saying my last chapter wasn't total crap. It definitely wasn't up to par, but I had to do something. I am glad to say, the writers block seems to have disappeared at the moment. God willing, it will stay gone for a good long while. God Bless you, dear boy. All my love, prayers, and best wishes are with you. Always.

**Unknown beedee:** Thanks for the compliments, baby... but where are the updates for your new story? The first chapter was really goood. Are you going to write anymore?

**Xia xue:** Sooooooooo sorry you are confused, dear one. Did this chapter help clear up the fog?

**Ixchen:** Your skin is crawling, eh? You know they have medication for that... wink. Take care. Hope to see you next time. I hope you liked this chapter.

**Catti-dono:** The sledgehammers again... I laughed my ass off all over again. God, that's funny. I love you, you strange, funny woman. Promise me you won't ever change. Did you like the chapter? I got them all together again (mostly) hahahahaha. Course, I still left ya'll hanging. Oops

**Pyramidgirl189:** I adore K/K–I hope you liked the new chapter.

**Blueliath:** Everyone screams over my cliffies. They don't call me the Queen of Cliffhangers for nothing. :) Hope you liked the new chapter.

**The Lone Lemon:** I'm glad you approve, my friend. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.

**Nguardian:** Oh Sweetie! There are so many things I want to say... Thank-you is the first. Thank you for taking the time to beta this story. You know how much this fic means to me. It's like one of my babies, I swear, and I wouldn't let just anyone touch it. You do a great job and I want you to know that. Next, God Bless. You are becoming such a good friend. I love you so much and enjoy all of our talks. Take care always, dear one.

**Polaris Fire Star:** Glad to see you back! Well, I got them all back together again. Hope you enjoyed it. Take care.

**Miguela:** Glad you liked the story. I update just as quickly as my brain allows. wink

**Steph:** Hiya girly! WoW! Horses? I love horses! I used to have one a long time ago. A pretty chestnut arabian with a white face and stockings. His name was 'Brewbaker'. I understand the 'hot blooded horse' in a stall for too long problem. I'm glad you had time to stop and read though. Hope you liked the new chapter. Take care, and don't let that hot blooded animal get the best of you.

**Kaoru890:** How's the computer ban going, kiddo? Hope you got a chance to stop and read the new chapter. Take care, honey.

**Female Hitokiri Battousai:** Stacie-chan! I need to get over and read your new fic. You've been going nuts on it and I haven't had the chance to read any of it. I need to. I also need to write you a new letter. I have worked the last 2 Friday nights and have not been able to talk to you. Poopy! I love you, hope you are doing well. God bless, baby.

**KodoraFairy:** It's nice to know you came back. I hope you continue to enjoy this story. It takes a lot out of me because so much of me goes into it. Take care, and I hope to see you again.

**MZ.AMbER EYES:** I put you on my AOL buddie list, but either I misspelled something or you haven't been on when I have because I haven't seen you at all. Anyway, I hope you liked the new chapter. It's always great reading your reviews.

**Midi Tenshi:** My little Angel-girl! Aren't 13 year olds just a gas? LOLOL He just turned 14 and thinks he's God's Gift. Oh my... anyway, I am hoping you liked the new chapter, Midi-girl. I love hearing from you. Take care, sweetheart. See you soon.

**Sephiress:** Dana, My Love–I haven't seen nor heard from you in ages. Are you alright? Are you well? Is school Okay? I miss you something awful, girl. I just haven't seen you for so long, I'm going through withdrawls.

I hope the story is still holding your attention. I'm looking forward to anything you write on 'Don't Let Go'. It is getting so good. Take care, girly, write me a letter or something. God Bless.


	25. Wolf's Eyes

A/N: Reveiw Responses at end of chapter. Also, I have included a few extra responses for those people I am missing reviews from. I just want you to know I still think about you and you are sorely missed. KnT

Chapter Twenty-five

A Wolf's Eyes

Place:Somberman Lighthouse

Time: November 1, 2001

Sunday Morning, 8:07 a.m.

_'What kind of an asshole am I?' _Saitou stared hard into the dark brown eyes of his son as he struggled to deal with the mess they had all somehow ended up in. _'I knew I should have done something when the police were here... but no, I just had to let them handle it and keep my mouth shut. Well, not anymore.'_

"Ruakii, we have to try and figure out where those two would be from here. Do you know your way around this place?"

"A little, I guess." The teenager shrugged as he led his father out the door into the hallway. "There are lots of smaller rooms down through here, and then there's the kitchen and stuff."

"Are you kidding? The lighthouse isn't that big?"

"Dad," Ruakii gave his father an irritated glare. "The building goes down behind the bluff. You don't see it all from the road and up front. Geez, What did ya think?"

Scowling, Saitou pursed his lips and gave his son an exasperated shove. "Shut-up, and just show me. Something tells me we don't have a hellofa lot of time."

"This is pretty much it, dad." The boy indicated the narrow hallway of doors. "The kitchen is off one of these. So, you want to just start opening doors?"

"That's what we're here for." From that point, each door was opened the room beyond carefully explored before moving on to the next. Saitou felt the moisture dry up in his mouth as room after room greeted him with silence. "I thought Quii said they were fighting? Where is all the noise?"

"Beats me, but if you want my opinion..."

"I don't. I can figure out for myself what the silence could mean, Ruakii. I don't need you painting pictures for me."

"Yes sir." They were standing on opposite sides of the hall and Ruakii was just pushing into the door of the room he intended to examine when his father hissed and swore viciously.

"Fucking hell." Saitou flew from the door and knelt swiftly beside the first fallen form he reached. "Kenshin–Oh my God. He's been stabbed, there's blood all over him and the floor. Jesus, Ruakii, find me something to stuff over this wound before he bleeds to death." A trembling hand carefully brushed the shaggy red bangs off the pale face. "What the hell happened here, kid? What in the name of god happened?"

A few minutes passed and the room exploded with female cries and a flurry of cloth. "Don't move him!" Saitou growled when Dharma reached for her son. "We don't know what else is wrong with him. And you do not want to fuck with any evidence."

"Evidence?" Dharma looked into Saitou's golden eyes. "What do you mean by evidence?"

"The police are going to want to figure out who started this little dance–in the very least who finished it and how. Things are not always what they seem, Dharma." Saitou pulled out his cell phone and punched the keys for 911.

Slowly Dharma turned to look at the other body. The one no one had really paid any attention to. The hulking form of her husband lay on its back. Clothes covered with blood made it difficult to determine just exactly where he was wounded, but the grisly stump of his right wrist was enough wound to satisfy anyone. Slowly she moved from her son's side and carefully knelt next to Hiko surveying the damage done to him.

"I pray that you've made your peace with God, Hiko." She whispered as she reached out and brushed the hair off his face. "Because your soul is bound for hell if you haven't."

"Papa is already in hell, momma." Dharma turned to look into the angelic face of her small daughter prepared to admonish her for cursing, but found she could not. The large blue eyes were dry of wetness and her little jaw was set in an unyielding line. "Him and the bad man keep trying to kill Kenshin, and God isn't going to let that happen anymore."

"What do you mean, baby? What does God have to do with it?"

"He took them, momma."

"Who took them, Cleo?" Dharma put her arm around the stoic looking little girl and pulled her close. "You aren't making sense, honey."

"Yes I am, momma. You just aren't listening." Cleo pulled away from her mothers arms and went to kneel beside her fallen brother. "God took them all someplace so he can fix what happened. So Kenshin won't be dead and so Papa won't be a bad man anymore."

"Cleo, honey, God can't change what's happened. Your brother and father are hurt very badly and we need to get them to a hospital..."

"That's just here, momma." Cleo tossed her hands up in the air in childish anger. "God took the rest of them–like what's inside, and made them all go someplace so he can fix this. He doesn't want Kenshin to be dead again, but he has to fix Papa so that won't happen."

"Fix your father..." Dharma exchanged bewildered looks with the other two adults. "How does God fix your father?" The sound of sirens greeted her question and she watched as Saitou leapt up and disappeared out the door. "Time will tell."

OoooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooOooooooooo

Place:Evermore General Hospital

Time: 9:22 a.m.

"We have two criticals coming in, Dr. Hoffman. Both with multiple lacerations and stab wounds. Massive loss of blood. Three unconscious, cause unknown. No wounds." The blue eyed nurse waited for the young resident to look up from his paperwork and locked eyes with him. "Four teenagers from the private school, and one unknown adult male."

"Great, what a way to start the day." The young ER Intern raked a hand through his thick blonde hair and pulled himself out of his chair. "Alright people," he shouted through the small emergency room. "Let's get moving. Trauma one is open and ready for customers, and it looks like we got five coming in for coffee and donuts."

"What we got, boss?"

"Two with stab wounds and blood loss, so I want every unit of O neg we got in the freezer, and three unconscious from unknown causes. Lots of blankets and saline. I want gowns, gloves, and masks people. We don't know if we're dealing with a virus outbreak or what, and I don't want any of you exposed. Got me?"

"Loud and clear, boss man." The eleven person crew of nurses and orderlies fanned out across the brightly lit room grabbing saline bags, IV poles and tubing, gloves, gowns, and every other item that could possibly be wanted or needed. It was like a well ordered beehive. Organized chaos.

"Dr. Hoffman?" The older woman who ran the admissions desk poked her head around the corner.

"What, Mary?"

"The police are on their way."

"Go figure." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. This was going to be a very long day. "You know where to send them, Mary. Just make sure there's coffee and call the cafeteria. See if they have anything they can send up to keep them occupied."

"Yes, sir. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank-you, Mary. Just try to keep them out of my way until things settle down."

"I will, doctor." She sighed and returned to her desk. "This is going to be a long day." She muttered under her breath as she sat down.

Three hours later Sargent Randy Thomas was setting in a hospital waiting room, a cup of coffee in one hand and a grilled cheese in the other. His pale green eyes were bloodshot and the frown thinning his lips told everyone to keep their distance unless it was important. A yellow notepad sat on the short table in front of him. Several pages were filled with his nearly illegible chicken-scratch handwriting, and he was studying them intently.

He'd thought he was through with this particular mess a couple of days ago when he order that stuffy, asshole lawyer to leave town, but no such luck. It appeared that same asshole lawyer had kidnaped two of the young girls from the private school and then somehow gotten himself mixed up in a sword fight with his step-son. How in the hell any of that occurred was beyond his rational powers of understanding, and how the kid, a bunch of his friends, and that same asshole ended up out at the abandoned lighthouse was an even further reach. Randy had not seen a mess like this in years, and he could hardly wait to see what forensics came up with at the fight scene.

"More coffee, Sarg?"

"No thanks, Ben. I'm good."

Ben looked at the bent head of his partner as he took a seat opposite him on the other side of the table. Randy had been going over his interview notes for over an hour now, and the silence was starting to work on Ben's nerves. "What are you trying to find in there, Randy? The answers are the same as they were 2 hours ago."

"Yes, I know. That is part of what bothers me so much. How can any of this bullshit be true?" He flipped a page and started going over the statement he'd taken from the school master. "I can see why everyone thinks this kid is innocent now, but I'll be damned if I could prove it. And now he's gone and sliced and diced his old man–not exactly the greatest thing he could have done, you know?"

"Yeah, I agree, but there has to be more to this than what we are seeing on the surface. You know Master Saitou. He would never stand up for the kid if he didn't really believe he was innocent."

"I know that too, but you saw the kids file the same as I did. If I was him, I'd want to take out that slimy bastard too, but that doesn't make it okay." Randy looked up and met the gaze of his partner over his styron foam coffee cup. "If he's the instigator of this little blood dance, well–his days outside are numbered."

"What do you mean by that, Officer?"

Randy turned to face the source of the new voice and found himself face to face with a woman he had never met. She appeared to be in her mid to late fifties. Her soft blonde hair was streaked with gray, but her eyes remained a sharp, intense aquamarine that took him breath away.

"I–ah, I'm sorry," He stuttered as he exchanged a confused glance with Ben. "Are you part of this investigation?"

"I am." Her chin rose and her eyes flashed defiantly. "I'm probably more involved than anyone else you've talked to."

"Really, how's that?" Randy frowned at her but indicated for her to join them. "I don't recall meeting you when this monkey shoot started a couple days back."

"And you wouldn't have. My name is Elaine Lindquist. I am the County Social Worker assigned to Mr. Himura's case when he arrived here at Ivy Payne three years ago."

"Ah, I see." Randy flipped back several pages and squinted at his notes. "You and your colleagues have been treating and evaluating the kid since his placement... Dr. Elaine Lindquist?"

"Yes, I have a Phd. in adolescent psychology, and Kenshin Himura has been one of my most unique, if not difficult cases."

"I can well imagine. It isn't everyday you get to try and control a murdering animal inside a herd of sheep."

Elaine's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Kenshin is not a murdering animal, Officer. He is an exceptionally intelligent young man whose been given a tremendous burden to bear."

"Is that how you see him? As the victim here?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what he's done–this time?"

"I know what is being alleged that he's done, but I will not believe it unless he tells me he did it himself." She laid her briefcase on the table and snapped the locks open. "There are a few things about young Kenshin that you should know before you start cleaning out a cell for him. He's not what you'd expect."

"I already know that, Doctor. I met the kid myself a couple of days ago. He has a lot of guts for someone his age." Randy accepted the folder Elaine passed to him and casually flipped it open. "Just for the record, Doc, I don't think the kid's guilty either."

"You don't? And what has led you to think that, Officer?" Elaine put her briefcase on the floor next to her chair and then trained her attention on the man setting opposite her.

"I met his old man too." Green eyes met with aquamarine and locked. "There is something wrong with the way that man thinks."

"More than you know," she replied in a stiff voice. "More than you know."

"Do you know the story the kid's mother is telling now? Have you heard it?"

"N-no." Elaine looked from one policeman to the other as the two of them exchanged a poignant look. "I have never been able to get more than five words out of either of Kenshin's parents in the last three years. The mystery of that child's homelife has been a personal plague of mine from the moment I laid eyes on him."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing seemed to fit."

"As in..."

"Kenshin was labeled emotionally unstable with violent tendencies towards authority figures, but from the first time I interviewed him, the label just didn't seem to be him." Sighing heavily, Elaine pulled a cigarette out of her purse. "You mind?" She asked, and both men shrugged. It took her only a moment to light the cigarette and then she took a hard pull off of it holding the smoke inside her lungs for a full ten seconds before blowing it out in a slow, steady stream.

"You see," she began as she crossed her legs and folded her free hand under the opposite elbow. "Kenshin has been a project of mine ever since he came to Ivy Payne."

"Why is that?" Randy motioned for Ben to go get more coffee. "He's just another kid. What's so special about him?"

"That's just it, Officer. Kenshin is not just another kid. He's an extraordinary kid."

"Meaning?"

"Well, for starters, he smarter than you and me put together. He has an IQ somewhere around 180 and he has more artistic tendencies than violent ones."

"180? Are you shitting me, Doc?"

"No. He's a genius." Elaine took another pull on her cigarette. "Mathematics, Chemistry, History... it never seemed to matter what subject he took, his grades were perfect. Only he was never the perfect student."

"How so?"

"Difficult to get along with. He hates authority figures but not in a malicious way. He likes to–well, he likes to play with them." A smirk covered her face. "He's a master manipulator and he's no ones fool."

"You lost me, Doc. What are you getting at?"

"He's disrespectful to a fault, Officer. Insubordinate, peevish, and arrogant. But I have never seen him show violent tendencies that would stand up to what he was accused of and convicted for."

"You mean killing that old man up in New York." It was a statement more than a question, and Randy watched the woman nod her head in agreement. "So, you think he was framed or what?"

"I think he was set up after the fact. I have no doubt he was there and knows exactly what happened that night, but no one gave him the chance to tell his side of it."

"Nope, his old man had him on a bus shipped out of the state before much of anything got done."

"Don't you think that's odd, Officer? That a father would send his child so far away, and then hardly ever bring the family to visit? Are you aware that Kenshin did not see his youngest sister, Cleo, for over three years?"

"No, I don't recall ever hearing that." Another look was exchanged between the partners. "What kind of a kid is he–really?"

"Are you asking me for my professional opinion–or my gut instinct?"

"Both. What is he if he isn't the little animal everyone's been told he is?"

"He's a very sensitive, very loyal son." She leaned over and flicked the ash off her smoke. "And he loves his family more than anything else in this world. I think he'd die for them–any one of them."

"His mother says he used to take beatings for himself and his brother from the old man. She says he was beaten unconscious more times than she cares to remember, but it never changed anything." Randy took a drink of his coffee. "He would constantly put himself between his father and the rest of the family in order to try and protect them from him. She says he used to pull the asshole off her and then suffer the consequences."

"Oh God–Kenshin." Elaine covered her eyes with her free hand and drew in a shaky breath. "I had a feeling it was something like that. What else has she said to you?"

"She says her husband fixed the jail deal for the kid. Said it was an agreement she made with him so the boy wouldn't end up in mainstream lock-up."

"But he's innocent."

"Yeah, but the old man fed him to the courts on a silver platter. Never even got him a defense attorney."

"Why?"

"He wanted the kid gone out of the house–out of his way. She said he told her if she didn't agree to his terms, he'd either throw her and the boy out without a dime, or–"

"Or what?" A chill crawled up Elaine's spine as she met the pale green eyes of the policeman.

"Or he'd kill him." Randy choked down another swallow of his coffee and handed his cup to Ben. "More coffee, please?"

"Sure, I think we could all use some." Ben rose and walked out of the room in search of another coffee pot.

"I never dreamed... Oh that poor boy. All these years..." A catch in Elaine's voice caught the attention of the policeman setting with her.

"It's not your fault, Doc, if that's what you're thinking." He reached out and dropped the file in the middle of the table. "It's not really anyone's, but we have to find a way to get this kid back with his family, and that tyrant away from them."

"Maybe I can help you, Sargent Thomas."

Randy looked up and sighed as he recognized one of the detectives from homicide. "What did you find out there, Wil? Anything interesting?"

"You could say that." The tall lanky man shrugged out of his tan trench and sat down next to Randy. "We are fairly certain of what took place turning the ah, the duel." He cast a suspicious blue look at the older woman setting opposite him.

"It's okay, Wil. This is Dr. Elaine Lundquist..."

"The social worker?" Wil stretched out his hand toward Elaine. "I've heard of you, Dr. Lundquist. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank-you, Detective..."

"Landers, William Landers."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Detective Landers." Elaine stubbed out her cigarette. "What new information do you have to offer this little party we have going?"

"Well, the evidence out at the lighthouse was fairly straightforward." Wil accepted a fresh cup of coffee from Ben who then left to find one for himself. "There was little doubt that Mr. Seijuro was the instigator of the fight. We found a shattered wooden chair with blood, tissue, and red hair imbedded in the splinters. Apparently, he used it to whallop the young man over the head right when he walked through the door. Caught him by complete surprise I'd say."

"He smashed a chair over the kids head?" Randy's wide eyed stare told the detective he wasn't quite buying that. "If he did, the boy would have been knocked unconscious."

"Not necessarily." Wil shook his head and placed the cup on the table. "There is a smear of blood on the floor where he landed, but other than that, there is no evidence that the blow really slowed him down. He must have a hell of a thick skull."

"You got that right." Elaine smiled wanly. "And a stubborn nature to go with it."

"Well, he must be a hell of a kid because he put up a good fight. There's blood all over that room, but from what we can tell, most of it belongs to his father."

"To his father? But I thought they were both wounded?"

"Yes, they were. Grievously so, but it appears that the boy is better at fencing than his father. He cut him up a few times before the end."

"Do you think it was self defense?" Randy leaned back, leveling his gaze at the detective. "Was he protecting himself?"

"Yes, but he was also protecting those two girls. There is evidence of them being in the room as well, and the report says that they were found in another room farther down the hallway, is that right?"

"Yes, one was comatose, the other; she's the school master's daughter, she was awake and running off at the mouth when we got there. She says the father attacked the son."

"She saw it?"

"Um-hum. Said the kid made her and the other girl leave. Told them to go find his brother."

"One of the other unconscious victims?"

"Yes, the smaller of the two boys. The other is Aoshi Shinomori"

"It that Okon's boy?"

"Yes, do you know him?"

"Yeah. He comes down to the station every so often to use the police library. Fascinating kid. So smart he'd scare the shit out of you."

"Sounds like two of a kind." Randy looked pointedly at Elaine who nodded. "You think they are friends?"

"It would make sense, but Kenshin has never been one to make friends."

"A lot of things seem to have changed for that boy lately." Randy flipped through his notes again. "The unconscious girl is his–girlfriend?"

"Kaoru Kamiya. Yes, that is what Master Saitou has told me, and that in itself, is astonishing."

"Why? All boys have girlfriends."

"Not Kenshin. He's made it his life's pursuit to stay as far away from people as possible. He doesn't like attachments."

OooooooooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooooOooooooooooooo

Place: Sedgmont, New York

Time: 10:43 a.m.

"Himura!" Aoshi swung down of the horse and rushed to his friend, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Are you alright?" His urgent gaze traveled up and down the body of the redhead searching for wounds or other injuries.

"Yes, Aoshi." Kenshin smiled blandly and gripped his friend by the forearm. "But we all seem to be in a bit of a predicament."

"Does that mean you know what's going on?" Aoshi's clear blue eyes gazed intently down at Kenshin. "Because, it seems to me things have gotten a little bit strange since you and I last saw each other."

"You could say that." Kenshin angled his head and indicated Kaoru and Soujiro. "It would seem that there is a lot more to this story than any of us figured on. How much do you know?"

"Not much really. I was having an interesting conversation with a young woman named Cassandra when I ended up here... wherever the hell 'here' is." He absently took the reins of his horse in one hand and walked with Kenshin over to his other two friends. "I gather you are yourself again?" Kaoru nodded and reached out to take Aoshi's hand. "It is nice to see 'you' again."

"I suppose it is nice to be seen."

"Hmmm," He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand. "I gathered from Cassandra that Soujiro here is her younger brother, Ethan, but I have no idea who I am or what I have to do with this mess. All she said was my name was 'Elliot' and then I blacked out. Do you know what I'm doing here?"

"Well," Kaoru pursed her lips and cast a wary glance in Kenshin's direction. "Do you know 'when' we are?"

"When? What are you talking about 'when'?"

"We're in the past, Aoshi. Like 1800 and something in the past, and it looks like we're all here as ourselves. At least ourselves from 300 years ago."

"I knew I wasn't going to like this." He sighed and looked at Soujiro. "I'd just like to know what the hell I'm doing here. It was obvious that I wasn't a member of Cassandra or Edmond's families, but she didn't get a chance to tell me 'who' I was before all this happened. So," He looked pointedly at Kenshin. "Who the hell am I?"

"You're Daniel's youngest brother, Aoshi. Your name is Elliot March and you were Cassandra's best friend. You offered to marry her but her father refused because you were only a carpenter and Daniel was the heir to your father's holdings."

"Sandy told me that you and she wanted to get married but that she ended up with Daniel because of the money and social status issues." Soujiro looked down at his feet as he shuffled them in the loose dirt. "You knew what an animal your brother was and you knew he was abusing her, so you tried to help her and Edmond get away."

"I knew she was in love with someone else after she got married?" Aoshi looked shocked.

"Yes, and you did everything you could to make sure she would be happy." Another odd look passed between Soujiro and Kenshin. "We aren't totally certain, but we think Daniel killed you after he found out you helped them escape."

"K–killed me?"

"We don't know for sure... but that is what Sandy thinks."

"Sandy?" Aoshi looked into Soujiro's serious face. "You call her Sandy?"

"Um, yeah. It just sort of popped out when we were talking. I guess I remembered a few little things."

"What else do you know, Soujiro?" Kenshin walked up to his brother and put his hand on his arm. "Is there stuff you haven't told me?" When Soujiro refused to meet his eyes, Kenshin knew something was very wrong. "What else, little brother? What else is there?"

"He kills me too. In a duel over Sandy's honor or something. So it appears Daniel does us all in... every last fucking one of us."

"Shit!" Kenshin turned to look at a shocked Aoshi and a pale Kaoru. "I guess that answers our question from a little while ago."

"What question?" Aoshi stared at him.

"What we are all doing here."

"And that would be?"

"Someone who gets killed isn't supposed to. We're supposed to stop that."

"Okay, so that makes reasonable sense, but there is still one more question to answer."

"What?" Kenshin met Aoshi's piercing look.

"Which one of us isn't supposed to die?"

"There is one more question none of you have considered yet." All eyes turned to Kaoru as she stepped into the middle of the small group. "Are we looking for Daniel... or are we looking for Mr. Seijuro?"

"Fuck! I hadn't even thought about that. We could be dealing with my old man instead of Daniel. But if we are, he would have to be as confused as the rest of us... wouldn't he?"

"Only if it is your father, Kenshin. What if we are still dealing with Daniel? What will we do then?"

"Hope we know more than he does."

OoooooooooooooooooOooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooooOooooooooooooooooooOooooo

Place: March Home, Sedgmont

Time: 11:23 a.m.

"What the he..." He shook his head and groped for the blankets covering him. He felt like he was burning up he was so hot, and sweat was plastering his fine black hair to his damp forehead. "I must have had more to drink than I thought. Damn!" Swinging he feet to the floor, he sat up on the edge of the bed and dropped his aching head into his hands with a groan. "Father is going to have my head if I don't show up at the church before evening services. Agggh!"

The tall man with black hair stumbled out of his bed and shuffled over to the porcelain wash basin. Dumping in a moderate amount of water, he dunked his entire head into the cool soothing liquid. It wouldn't do for him to show up looking like he had a hang over. The Reverend would have a holy fit and it wouldn't matter who saw him punish his son. It had happened before, why shouldn't it happen again?

_'Because I won't let it.' _Emerald green eyes glared heatedly into the small mirror hanging over the basin as the man wiped his face dry. _'I won't ever be made a fool of again by that fucking old man, or anyone else for that matter.' _

He dressed hurriedly and left his room taking the back stairs out of the house so his mother wouldn't see him. Once out on the street he nonchalantly tucked his hands into the waist of his pants and ambled off toward the old church. It was a bright, chilly morning but spring was on the way and soon things would warm up. He nodded politely to a group of women and then again to a pair of gentlemen that he passed on his way and received polite greetings in return.

_'Stupid fools.' _He spat inside his head. _'If they only knew what I really thought of them they wouldn't be so amiable with me.' _An acidic smile crossed his well-shaped mouth for a moment as he tipped his head to a rather plump, homely woman. _'When the old man is dead and I run this Parish things will be different. I'll be the most powerful man in town, and they won't even know it. I'll demand larger donations for the collection and I'll make sure all those uppity business owners know that if they want things to keep going well for them here in Sedgmont, they'll have to 'pay the piper'. Oh yes, and pay him very well.'_

"It's about time, Daniel. Where have you been? The day is half over and I haven't seen your brother for hours." Reverend Maxwell March looked at his oldest son with narrowed eyes. "Have you been drinking again?"

"No sir. I had a headache last night and slept quite badly." Daniel offered his father one of his best innocent smiles as he joined him in the Parish office. "I'm sorry I'm late, father. What is that your saying about Elliot?"

"He got up and left early this morning to go look at the land for the new church, but has not returned and that was several hours ago. He doesn't usually take this long before he comes back, and I was under the impression he and Ethan O'Massy were going to start the ground breaking soon."

"I wouldn't know, father. You know Elliot doesn't talk to me about such things. 'E's always running off to do his own business and leaving me out of it." Daniel took a chair close to his father's desk and sat down. "Perhaps e's gone over to the O'Massy's to fetch young Ethan. Would you like me to go look for him?"

"No. It's just as well that you stay away from the O'Massy's until after you and Cassandra are married next week. You know it is bad luck to see the bride so close to your joining."

"Nah, I don't believe all that hog-swaller, father. I never have. If I want to see me Cassy, I will and no one is going to stop that."

"Daniel." The Reverend's voice was sharp and he was pleased to see his son flinch. "I will not have you dishonoring the girl before you are wed. You will keep your distance as is dictated by holy law and see her only during services. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, now as for your brother, I believe he will come here before he fetches young Ethan. I have the construction plans for the church here in my desk. There is not much he can accomplish without those."

"Aye, I suppose that is true enough. If you don't want me to go find him, what would you have me doing here, father?"

"Do your job, Daniel. Clean the Chapel. We have evening services tonight and the floor needs sweeping." The Reverend waved his son off and turned to his ledger. "The pews need polishing as well, so I am more than certain there is enough work to keep you occupied until services begin."

"Aye. That there should." Though his voice sounded agreeable, inside Daniel was seething with fury. How dare that shriveled old man tell him to clean and polish like an old woman's maid? None-the-less, he stood and left the room retrieving a broom from a nearby closet.

_'You'll pay for this, old man.' _He thought as he furiously yanked the broom across the hardwood floor. _'One day I'll see the skin peal off your bones and listen to you scream in pain while I stand and laugh in your fucking face. Aye, I look forward to that day. It will be the beginning of something marvelous.'_

_TBC_

Review Response:

**Half-breed-demon-fox:** Glad you're loving it. :) Hope you still enjoy.

**Psychotic-catster:** You crazy little girl. You are soooo funny. I swear, every time I get one of your reviews I laugh a good 4-5 minutes. I know Kenshin was a little OOC but I needed him to feel that way because of the time shift. I hope this chapter gets things back on track for you. God Bless, dear one. Tsuki-san

**Lere:** Lere, my beloved. Oh, sweetie... forgive me. I haven't written for so long and I should have. I have been thinking about you often but have not put it into words.

This chapter was so hard to write and it has taken me so long to get it done. I am really hoping that I'm getting back into my groove. I feel link I've been floundering for such a long time trying to get my muse back. I want to thank you for always being there and sticking it out with me. You are the dearest and most loved. I need to write to you. I really do. God bless, my love. Tsuki

**Erica6060**: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will hang around for the rest. :)

**JD Fielding:** Ah, JD... Do you think my writers block is gone? Is my work coming back up to par? I am so worried about it. It has been so difficult to get things to come together and mesh the way I want them to.

I want to thank you, dear friend, for staying with me through thick and thin. You don't know how much it means to me. You are one of the lights in the darkness for me. I wish there were a way to tell you more how dear you are to me without it sounding really mushy and ooey-gooey... but you are. I really want you to know that. And the reviews you leave me are one of the reasons I keep writing. You keep me going. Thanks... Tsuki-san

**Immortal-Blood:** You must have a very cool friend. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have to tell you something interesting... your name actually helped inspire me to work on one of my other fictions... "Do You Want to Live Forever?". It's a vampire fic and for some reason your name gave me some really great ideas. Thanks. :) God Bless, Tsuki-san

**xia-xue:** Cool! You aren't confused anymore. I am soooo glad. LOLOL. I hate the pictures on the front of those romance novels too. Shudders... they didn't used to be so bad, but they are getting worse as time goes by. My boys got a new X-box game... Ninja Gaiden. The graphics are awesome!! I haven't played it yet, but I plan to. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Catch ya laterz. Tsuki-san

**Rain-angst:** Ah, my sweet friend. :) I love to see you everywhere you pop up. You just make me smile and leave a warm feeling in my heart. Your continued support and encouragement mean the world to me. I really love you. Thanks. Tsuki-san (I can see the cabin all covered in snow with smoke coming out the chimney now... very homey and comfortable looking.)

**Cattiedono:** Oh, sweet beloved... how my heart warms to see you whenever and wherever you are. My thoughts are with you always and my friendship is yours for always. You are dear to my heart and mean more to me than I can say. Thank you for being there. Tsuki-san

**Luraia Soul:** Not confused anymore? I am so glad. I was getting worried there for a bit. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, chica-chan. You are one of my favorite reviewers and sweetest fans. I am always looking for your name among my reviews. Thanks for being there. Tsuki-san

**Nguardian:** Oh my sweet friend... what can I say to you? There are no words to describe my emotions. You are so dear to me... such a sweet and dear friend. You have come to mean so much to me in such a short period of time. Your intelligence and aptitude for clear mindedness help keep me on track more than you know, and you have found a permanent place in my heart. Thank you for being there for me. And thank you for everything you do. I love you. Tsuki-san

**Lendra-chan:** You go girly.... you nag that woman about those stories... she still hasn't updated a single one. Tell her to email me, I'd like to know what's going on in her head. :) As for you... you are just my little sweetheart. You know I love you. And you are getting so much better. You're my angel. Take care, and thanks for being there for me. Your support means the world to me. God bless, honey. Tsuki-san

**BelleDayNight:** Oh shit! I swear I am going to work on 'Saitou's Ranch', I swear I am. As for everything else... are you really sure my work has come back up to par? I still feel like I'm missing part of my muse, but I am trying to get it back on track. I trust your opinions. I knew you'd be happy about the Aoshi stuff... LOL. Everytime I write him I think about you. Oh, and speaking of which, I found some new pictures I'll have to send them to you. Love you, dearest friend. Miss seeing you on-line. Hope you're having fun at home. God bless, Tsuki-san

**legolas-Estelstar:** bows down and bangs head on floor until it bleeds please forgive this sessha... it was completely unintentional that you were left off my last review response. I beg your humble forgiveness. As soon as I read your review, I went back and posted a response at the beginning of the last chapter just for you. I felt like I could have cried. Gomen, dear one. Gomen. Tsuki-san

**MZ. AmbER EYES:** Good to see you, love. I read your story... It should have won something. I really mean that. I thought it was very good. In fact, I printed it out so I could hold on to it. You guys did a great job. I has be great getting to talk to you online... I like to think I can call you my friend now. I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for staying with me for so long. It means so much. You are one of the lights. God bless, dear one. Tsuki-san

**kik-ting:** I like coming up with old word phrases that I used to hear when I was a kid. 'Smack-dab' was something my mom used to say all the time. LOL. Glad you liked it. I'm so glad to see you're still here. I hope you stick around, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. God bless, Tsuki

**Steph:** Hey girly! Nice to see you! Glad you didn't let the horse get the better of you. It's always best to let them know who the boss is. :) I am happy you liked the chapter... I hope you liked this one too. I wanted to thank you for hanging in there with me all this time. It means a lot to me. God bless, sweetie. Tsuki-san

**De Lazy Lime:** Aloha, Limey-chan! :) Yes, things are going to get messy. How did you know? LOL. I am so happy to see you, but then, I am always happy to see you. You brighten up my life in ways you can't imagine. Your calling me 'Okaasan' just tickles me pink and I love it. :) I love you too. Take care, and never lose that smile. It means the world to me. Tsuki-san

**kenji25samx:** You're welcome. :) I always try to reply to my reviewers. If they take time to talk to me, I should take the time to talk back. After all, it is you guys that keep me inspired to write. If I didn't have you out there supporting me, I wouldn't have much of a reason to continue. Thanks for being there, and I feel like we are friends. All my fans are my friends. They are my second family. God Bless, Tsuki-san

**s-jane:** Thank you for everything. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And I hope to see you again. God bless, tsuki-san

**inuiyoukai's cousin:** LOLOLOLOLOL! Sugar highs are the greatest. Your review made me laugh for a good 3 minutes. Thanks, I needed it. God bless... tsuki-san

**Pixel-the-evil-fairy:** I'll forever think of 'fern gulley'. LOLOL. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review... thanks for supporting me and being there. I have gotten so I look for your name in my reviews, and love seeing it there. You leave a warm spot in my heart. God bless, Tsuki-san

**Kodora Fairy:** Thank you for telling me your putting me on your alert list. It humbles me to know you like my work that much. I hope I can live up to your expectations in the future, and I hope you enjoyed this last chapter. It was a beastie to write. Tsuki-san

**Kean:** I wondered where you were... I'm so glad I didn't lose you. I was worried. You are one of my favorite fans. It would have broken my heart. I'm so happy you're still here. I value your opinions. You are always honest with me. Thank you. Tsuki-san

**End Notes for Reviewers I am missing: :(**

**Sephiress:** I know you're out there, I just miss you when you're gone.

**Blueliath:** You are missed, Blue.

**Chibi-nadia:** I missed you this time around.

**Miguela:** Hoping you are still out there.

**Sick Gallaxy:** I miss you. You haven't been here for so long. Are your pockets empty?

**The Lone Lemon:** I have missed seeing you for some time. I hope your are still reading.

**Midi Tenshi:** Hello Angel Girl. I missed you. I hope you are well.

**HaPPy BuNNy:** I am missing you, young one. It has been a long time.

**Kaoru890:** You are missed, Miss Kaoru.

**InuLimbo:** I enjoyed our time together. I hope to see you again.

**MM:** You are always missed once you appear in my reviews. I always look.

**Fangsofthedragon:** Your presence has been sorely missed. The spirit of the dragon was greatly appreciated.

**OneBlackTear:** You are missed. I would wish to see you again.

**Unknown beedee:** Oh young one, I surely miss seeing you. It has been awhile.

**Polaris Fire Star:** I hope I have not lost you. You were with me for so long. You are missed.

**Silenced Doves: I** have looked for you to come back. I hope you are still reading.

**Kagura:** Kagura-love... you are missed, dear one.

**Ixchen:** Oh my, I have missed you so much. I hope you are still out there.

**ChibiNoMiko:** I always look for you to come back. You are missed.

**Star074:** I hope you are still reading. I would wish to see you again.

**RkfanN930:** I hope you are still there.

**Paisita:** You are sprely missed, dear friend.

**NovemberDusk**: It has been a long time, my friend. I miss your voice.

**_God bless to all, and Happy Holidays. Kanzen ne Tsuki_**


	26. The Education of Maxwell March

**A/N:** Gomen nasai, my beautiful friends... sessha is deeply sorry for the long, long wait. Also for the short chapter. Sessha is trying to get back on track with this story. It is so close to being over, but sessha is having a hard time bringing it to an end. Somewhat like pulling the strings together on 'White Flame'. This story has been with me for so long, I am having a hard time saying 'good-bye.' Gomen, here is my short, but humble offering.

**Review Responses at end of chapter.**

Chapter twenty-six

The Education of Maxwell March

Reverend March was beginning to worry. Elliot still was not back from wherever it was he'd gone. Even if he was up at the new land plot looking things over, he should have been back by now. It was just not like him to stay gone for much of the day. Perhaps he should have Daniel go look for his brother. He could still hear the sounds of the broom inside the chapel.

"Daniel?" he called from the doorway.

"Aye, father?"

"I think, perhaps, you should go look for your brother. He still hasn't come home. I'm beginning to wonder if something has happened to him up at the land."

"Aye, father. I'll go look for him." _'Wouldn't it be a bloody shame if he'd fallen off the beast of his and broken his neck?' _He put the broom back in the closet, smiling to himself while keeping a perfect pious look on his face. "I'll be back as soon as I can." he reassured the older man as he left. Maybe this would be a good time for Elliot to meet with an accident-if he already hadn't.

The Reverend breathed a sigh of relief. Daniel would make a good Parish Father one day. He had a small lazy streak, but it was quickly disappearing the old he became and he was proving himself to be both kind and dependable. The Reverend was very proud. If only he would stop his drinking. That was the last vice his son needed to rid himself of. Once that was mastered, nothing would stop him from becoming everything he was meant to be.

OoooOoooO

"Do you know where we are going, Kenshin? Or are you just walking and hoping something will pop up in front of us and give you an idea?" Soujiro was getting antsy with his brother's seeming lack in sense of purpose.

"Sou..." Kenshin gave his brother a warning look that threatened him with physical retribution if he didn't keep his mouth shut. "I'm working on it, alright."

"Oh, great. You're working on it. That really makes me feel better."

"Soujiro, I swear to God..."

"Kenshin, Soujiro... both of you, chill out." Kaoru snapped at the fuming brothers. "This is not helping us." She turned to the younger. "You need to stow it and let Kenshin think. You have a lot of questions, but I don't see you offering any answers, so unless you've got something to contribute that's useful, shut-up!"

"Hey, I'm just frustrated, okay. We've been wandering around for over an hour. People are going to start to get curious and nosey if we keep this up."

"That is probably true, but we'll just have to deal with that when and if it happens. In the mean time, try to be helpful instead of irritating."

"May I interrupt?" Aoshi's smooth voice slipped between the arguing couple. "I may have something of interest to contribute."

"Please, by all means." Kenshin waved his friend onward. "I need to hear something useful besides these two bickering at each other."

"Kenshin!" Kaoru squawked in outrage. "I was trying to help you."

"Sorry, baby." He offered her an apologetic half smile, and then kissed her cheek. "We're all on edge. I didn't mean anything by it, okay."

"You better not, tough guy, or else you're in a lot of trouble." She pouted and rubbed her nose against his cheek. "I want to get out of here and go home. I want this to be over."

"I know," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "So do I." Hugging her up next to his side, Kenshin nuzzled her cheek and kissed her temple. "We're gonna figure this out, baby. I promise, and then we're going to go home."

"Will we be together after this, Kenshin?" She looked up at him with just a touch of anxiety in her eyes.

"Just try and get rid of me." He grinned and pressed a soft kiss on her lips. "I have far too many plans for us and our future. I doubt I'm even going to let you get out of my sight for longer than two minutes." He watched her smile and that wonderful feeling of warmth that only she had ever made him feel rose to fill his heart. "You're the only thing I want." he whispered. She leaned away and looked at him in wide eyed astonishment, but before she could utter a single sound, Aoshi interrupted again.

"Ahem, can we go back to what I was trying to say now?" Laughter tinged his voice.

"I..ah, yeah." Kenshin looked away from the beloved face and trained his attention on the tall, dark-hair teen next to him. "Tell me what you got."

"I've been thinking about what we've all been talking about." He looked into his friend's face and saw confusion. "We've been trying to figure out who is and isn't supposed to die for quite awhile. Even before we got sucked over here. Yes?"

"I guess so," Kenshin scratched his chin and considered Aoshi's words. "What are you getting at?"

"Maybe we're talking about the wrong people."

"Huh? What do you mean by that? Who else are we going to talk about except the people Daniel murdered?"

"Maybe we should be talking about the people he didn't murder."

"Like who?" Kenshin knew Aoshi was going somewhere with this, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out where.

Aoshi turned to Soujiro. "What all did Cassandra tell you about her marriage to Daniel? Was it arranged?"

"Yeah. Her father and Daniel's father arranged it. It was supposed to be some kind of a financial coup for Sandy's family because Daniel's father was the Reverend and being associated with the March's would improve his bakery business significantly."

"What was there for the Reverend's family to gain from being coupled with the O'Massy's?"

"Nothing really. She never did say. I think it was simply that her father was a successful businessman and already well known in the community. It would have been a good match for times like these. She told me everything was about doweries and good matches."

"She was pretty and came from a rich family." Kenshin narrowed his gaze and let that information settle in his mind. "Daniel proved himself to not be above murdering anyone, even a member of his own family as well as an innocent young boy who only wanted to protect his sisters honor. We know he's not above cheating or possibly stealing to get what he wants and he hates everything and everything."

"He loved Cassandra." Kaoru's voice was small as she snuggled closer to Kenshin. "He loved her so much he killed her so no one else could have her."

"That isn't love, honey." Kenshin rubbed his cheek on her forehead. "That's obsession. There's a big difference." He turned back to lock gazes with Aoshi. "Who would he have hated the most? Who would have had control over everything in his life at this point? He told Cassandra that she ruined him when she left him for another man because it destroyed his manhood, but why would that happen? Women leave men all the time and visa versa? Why was it so bad for him? Who did he fail by losing his wife if not himself?"

They all stood looking at each other for several long, silent minutes, and then Aoshi cocked his head and voiced a thought. "He was the oldest son of the town's religious leader. In this time period, religion was just about more important to the puritan's that anything else. They were trying to convert the Indians and anyone else they came in contact with. The Reverend almost had more power than the Law."

"If he was in line to inherit his father's parish and lands, he would have become a very important man as well as a very powerful man." Soujiro looked at Aoshi, feeling a cold shiver lace up his spine. "He would have been able to do anything."

"That's right. And if you have an evil man sitting at the head of a town who is conditioned to believe and obey every word that comes out of his mouth..."

"Oh my God!" Kenshin's jaw dropped and his hand covered his mouth in shock. "It's his father. He's going to kill his father."

"What?" Kaoru pulled away and stared at her boyfriend. "What are you talking about? Why would he do that?"

"To get control of everything." Kenshin shook his head and raked his fingers through his hair. "Don't you see? Right now, the old reverend has absolute control over everything Daniel does. He has to cow-tow to whatever his old man tells him to do. He has to be 'a good boy' or he'll lose his chance at gaining control of all that power he stands to inherit when the old man dies. But he's such a greedy sonofabitch, he's not going to wait that long. He want's it now. He wants everything now."

"I think you're probably right, Himura, because I was considering something much the same." Aoshi drew a deep breath. "With the old man out of the way, Daniel can do anything to this Parish he chooses. He can extort money from them in the name of the Lord and call it 'donations', keeping most of it for himself. He'll preach hellfire and damnation to keep the fear of God in them so no one will ever question his authority, and he'll rule this town under an iron fist."

"That's the first murder, isn't it?" Kaoru raised horrified eyes. "That's the one that starts them all, and it's the one we have to stop."

"I think so." Aoshi nodded, a dark look passing over his features. "Once you kill your own father, everything after than is easy." he turned and looked off into the distance. "Once he had everything he wanted-the power, the money, his wife. Daniel must have believed he was invincible. He didn't count on Cassandra falling in love with Edmond or Elliot helping them runaway together. Once word of her desertion filtered out into the town, the parishioners must have turned their backs on him. If a man of God can't keep his wife, a girl they all knew to be sweet, lovely, and kind to a fault, then there must be something wrong with him. It must have ruined him completely and exposed him for what he really was. During that time, he killed Elliot. Sometime before Cassandra left, he killed Ethan. That might have been the catalyst that finally set everything in motion, making Edmond and Elliot devise a plan to get her away."

"I think you're right." Kenshin's eyes had a faraway look to them as he stared at nothing. "He must have done something terrible to Elliot to make him tell him where they'd gone. I don't even want to imagine. He must have died feeling such guilt knowing he failed to keep their secret."

"I...I think so too." Icy blue eyes filled with remorse turned to capture Kenshin's saddened violet gaze. "I...I'm sorry." he said.

"Don't." Two steps brought the red-head over to his now silent friend. "We aren't going there, Aoshi. Not now, not ever. You understand? There is a demon both of us have to deal with here. Mine is the fact that I left my beloved alone when my heart was screaming at me that it was wrong. Even though she told me it was what I had to do, my heart said I needed to stay, but I didn't. I left, and she died. So, we both have a guilt to harbor deep inside knowing that we failed to protect something we loved. Let's deal with it and stop it from happening again. Alright?" Aoshi nodded, reaching out and grabbing Kenshin by the shoulder.

"Alright. Then we need to find the reverend."

"Best place to look for a preacher is in the church." Soujiro said quietly. "And I think the church is that big building way over there." He pointed off to their right and everyone turned to look.

"I think you're right, Sou." Kenshin nodded. "Let's go. Time to talk to the reverend."

"Do you think he'll believe us?" Kaoru asked as she slipped her hand into Kenshin's.

"I don't know. All we can do is try."

"Yeah," Soujiro muttered. "Try and pray."

OooooOooooO

Reverend March was more than just a little surprised by the appearance of his youngest son, his oldest son's fiancé' and her younger brother, and the town's school master. His deep green eyes narrowed as he took in their general state of nervousness as well as the way Cassandra seemed to be hovering around Edmond and promptly straightened his long coat and favored them with the most severe look he could muster.

"Elliot," he lifted a slate gray eyebrow and pierced his son with an unfavorable stare. "Where have you been all morning? I just sent your brother looking for you? And what are you doing here with Miss O'Massy, young Ethan, and Master Fetlock?"

"I...ah," Aoshi looked at Kenshin with helpless eyes. He had no idea what to say to this man who believed he was his son. Point in fact, he was his son, in a manner of speaking, but in another, he most definitely was not. "Forgive me, Father," he began in a low but steady voice. "I fear we are in need of your council. There is a rather important matter that has come to my attention, and it is imperative we speak to you about it."

The Reverend stared hard at the man he believed to he his son and confusion washed through his mind. It looked like Elliot, the voice even sounded like Elliot, but the words coming out of his mouth were like nothing he had ever heard his son speak before. They were not like anything he had heard anyone speak before, for that matter. "What is wrong?" he asked, approaching the tall, dark-haired man. "Are you ill?"

"No, I'm quite well," Aoshi took an involuntary step back as the old preacher got close. "As I said, we are in need of your council."

"Aye, you did say that. Now what I'd like to be knowing is what's gotten into you that's got you speaking like an English Dignitary instead of my son?"

"Ex-excuse me, sir?"

"That, that right there," The Reverend pounded on Aoshi and grabbed the front of his coat in both hands. "My son never called me 'sir' or 'father' a day in his life. He's called me 'papa' from the time he was big enough to stumble over my boots, and in his later years, he took to calling me 'Reverend'. So, I ask you, young man, just what in tarnation is wrong with you?"

Aoshi carefully, but deliberately removed the preacher's hands from his coat, and then took a measured step away from him. His icy blue eyes filled with worry and he cast another glance in the direction of his red-haired companion. "I was...or rather, we were hoping this would have gone much differently, but unfortunately it appears we are not going to be able to work our way into explanations."

"What explanations?"

"We are not whom we appear to be, Reverend March."

"Say again."

"I am not your son, Elliot. At least, not the Elliot you know. I am, however, a part of him but a part that does not exist in this time." Aoshi watched carefully as this information filtered through the old man's brain. "Tell me, Reverend. What color were Elliot's eyes?"

"What does that have do to with this?" The Reverend eyes the foursome suspiciously. "I sense witchcraft afoot."

"No, no witchcraft, old man." Kenshin stepped forward and glared into the preachers face. "A little time travel maybe, but no witchcraft."

"Time travel? Such things are not possible in this world and if they are, it's of the Devil."

"We are not of the Devil, you shriveled up old puritan. We reincarnated, for God's sake. This man is your son, but only in spirit. Look at his eyes if you don't believe me. I'll bet Elliot March had green eyes just like Daniel. This man's eyes are blue."

"Blasphemer! How dare you take the name of God in vain in his own house! How dare you speak to a man of the cloth in such a vile and coarse manner! How dare you..."

"Does Edmond Fetlock talk like this?" Kenshin grabbed the front of the preachers coat and shoved his nose into the old man's reddening face. "Has he ever cursed a day in his life? Would he talk to you like this?"

"N-no...Master Fetlock is a good, kind God-fearing man. I've never heard a harsh word from him since the day I met him." The Reverend looked into the snarling face and felt fear shiver through his old bones. "I don't understand...are you poor people possessed?"

"Jesus Christ!" Kenshin swore and shoved the old man away. "Can't you get it through your head? We are not witches, we are not Devils, and we sure as hell are not possessed. What we are is trying to prevent a catastrophe of monumentous proportions."

"What kind of catastrophe?"

"Your murder at the hands of your own son."

"Elliot?" His confused gaze swivelled toward Aoshi.

"No..." Kenshin exchanged pained looks with Aoshi and Kaoru. "Daniel."

OooooOooooO

Daniel stared across the rolling meadow, a feral gleam reflecting in his deep emerald eyes. Elliot was nowhere to be found, not that he cared over much. He hadn't really expected to find his younger brother out here anyway.

'_He's probably over at the O'Massy's... paying one of 'is social calls on my betrothed.'_

His face pinched into a mask of hatred. That was something he intended to put a stop to-just as soon as he took care of the business at hand. The old man was becoming too much of a problem for his own good, and Daniel needed to find a way to get rid of him without it looking suspicious. Of course, he would need to be around to perform the wedding next week, but after that... He smirked, after that it wouldn't matter much if the old geezer just up and disappeared.

"After all," he said, leaning over to pat his horse on the neck. "I am here to mournfully step into 'is shoes. Why there would hardly be a reason to miss 'im." His eyes narrowed as his brain started to fashion a plan. It should be fairly simple. Old men had accidents every day.

**TBC**

**Reveiw Response**

**XiaXue:** Romance Novels... used to read them when I was in high school and in my twenties. Thought they were hot stuff (shudder). Can't do to much with them now. I like romance, but I want blood, guts, and action with it. HA HA HA HA.

**Unknown Beedee:** Two more years of high school, eh? Hang in there. It all happens so fast, one day it'll all be over and you'll wonder where the time went. (I know how this story ends, I just don't want to go there... can you tell? lol)

**Kodora Fairy:** I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update. I actually hadn't realized just how long it's been until I looked at the date on your review. O.O I was astonished and embarrassed. I hope I didn't disappoint you this time. The chapter is so short. Very out of character for me.

**Catti-dono:** God Bless, you cute thing. I read your story you sent. I loved it. You need to have more faith in yourself. And, Thank you for listening to me the other night. I needed a shoulder to cry on and you were there for me. Friendship is so important to me, and yours is priceless.

**Ice Angel Kaoru:** Yes, it has been some time since I saw you among my reviews, koishii-tenshi. It is good to see you again. :) Now it is my turn to be late in appearances. How do we know if the group is dealing with Hiko or Daniel? I hope this chapter answered your question. :P And yes, I discovered the 'sit' 'sat' 'set' problem. grin I've been having trouble with that for some time. I hope I have it finally figured out. Thanks. There are a lot of grammar issues I'm working on. Some times I feel like I'm back in school trying to learn it all over again.

**Half breed demon fox:** May I continue to meet your expectations, dear kitsune. Thank you. :)

**Paisita:** Thank you again for your letter. It meant the world to me. You don't know how much I needed to know 'someone' cared. I have really been struggling with a lot of issues lately. Not just with writing, but personally as well. Your letter gave me something to hang on to and believe in. God bless you, dear one. You are a light in my darkness.

**Legolas estelstar:** Do you know how much I love you? Your letter/review left me speechless and almost in tears. Between you and Paisita, I felt like I had a reason to keep writing. Sometimes that is all it takes-just the sweet voices from the void saying 'you can do this' and 'we believe in you' and 'we are your friends' to keep you going. Though I have never seen your face nor heard your voice, I feel your heart, and that is enough. Thank you. God bless.

**Pyramidgirl89:** I made his IQ so high because he is a certified genius. I wanted to shock the policemen/and the readers. I wanted to show beyond any doubt, he is not what people have believed him to be. He is being what they expect him to be. What he really is, is an Enigma with depth and potential that has barely been touched. Someone no one ever gave a chance to. Did you know, that Madonna's IQ is 144? Einstien's IQ was around 177... Most artists and very creative minded people range in IQ from 140-160. He is far above that.

**Sephiress:** **_Dana!_** I was so happy to see this review. I don't get a chance to talk to you much anymore. I'm so busy and so are you. I hope you are doing better these days-I think of you often and pray that things are going well. I hope your Yahoo group problems have fixed themselves. I love you, baby. I can hardly wait for you to start writing again.

**JD Fielding:** Little Brother! **_Otoutsan!_** I love your reviews. They always have something in them that gives me an idea. Did you know that? It never fails. I read them and I get an inkling for a scene. Whether for the next chapter or later on, but I always get something.

You and I are so alike in so many ways (when it comes to what goes on in our heads). I like looking at the world through the villain's eyes as well. The perspective can be as twisted as you'd like and it's acceptable. Strange, isn't it:)

Your new story... It has grabbed me by the throat. Everything about it is exceptional. Have you ever thought of joining a writing group and taking steps toward publishing? It is something that takes possibly a few years to accomplish (I am hoping to set a complete manuscript on someone's desk in 2 years), but I think you have the gift. It is a thought.

God bless, and much love always,

Tsuki-san (your neesan)

**Animegurl783:** Sorry, no KK romance at this time. There is just too much other 'stuff' that has to go on. There are little bits and pieces, but I promise there will be something major before the end closes. Really there will. :) (Thanks for the favorite listing)

**Aine of Knockaine:** love that name:) I was so jazzed to see you were reading **'Live Forever'**. Not very many people do... at least not many people review it. It is such a complex story. I basically write it for myself (almost) because it is something I have always wanted to write. It is difficult and takes a lot out of me, but no matter how long it takes, I will finish it. Thank you for reading **'Bad Kid'**. It's been with me a long time. You sound like one of those who'll stick around for the end. Hope so. :) God bless. Oh, before I forget... netflix? How much do they sell their box series for? Just wondering. Found a RK box set for about 100.

**De Lazy Lime:** My sweet Sarah. How much I love you, sweet girl. :) You've been with me for such a long time... I don't know what I'd do if I didn't see you. You always have something uplifting to say. I've been going through such an awful period in my life lately, and going back through my reviews and reading yours... it helped. More than you know. I always look for you... on all my stories... everywhere. Your just that ray of sunshine. You've always made me laugh-from the very beginning. :) God bless.

**Immortal Blood:** Friends like that are priceless. The last chapter of my Vampire FanFic has the inspiration that your name gave me. I think it is one of the best chapters I have written...in any of my stories. 'Thanks'. :) Thanks for being here for **'Bad Kid'**. I've gotten used to seeing you and look for you now. :) If you do go check out **'Do You Want to Live Forever?'**, just know that it is a very complex story. The style is a lot the same as this, but the story is much more complicated. God bless, my friend. Thanks for reading.

**Lynn-Minmay:** I am so pleased you liked the last chapter. I am in great hopes that this one was as pleasing...even if it was so short. There is a reason Hiko isn't there, and Daniel is. It's complicated-just like everything else. LOL. God bless, Lynn. Thanks for reviewing.

**Psychotic-catster:** You crazy little animal...LOLOLOLOL When I read your reviews I can actually picture you jumping up and down on your bed, hair flying wildly in your face. Everytime, it never fails... and I get the biggest grin on my face, and I chuckle. My husband always looks at me funny and says, 'What?' Everytime. Every single time. You are the best. I want to know if you ever bump your head on the ceiling? J/k Have I ever told you I love you? If I haven't... I do. God bless, you wild thing.

P.S. Don't you ever leave me... I think I'd die.

**RkfaN930:** You are more than forgiven for not reviewing a couple of chapters. Look how long it took me to update. (Now whose looking sheepish _'erp'_) (and I didn't know about the alert list for 6 months after I became a member, so don't feel dumb) (I didn't know there was a favorites lists either blush ) So, I think we're even. O.O lol

**erica6060:** I am so sorry you're confused. It is pretty complicated. If you want to e-mail me with what you are confused about, I will try to explain it to you. I have done that many times before so don't think you're bothering me or upsetting me. LadyInBlk4 at (without the spaces :)) I'd be more than happy to help.

**Pixel the evil fairy:** My _'fern gulley girl'_. Sorry, it sticks with me now. (Sheepish) And yes, you leave a warm spot... you always will. Once I find a bond with one of my fans, it stays with me forever. I never forget. You'll always be my _'fern gulley girl'_. lolol... I'll always remember who you are just because of that. You printed out the story? and its thick? Even in size 6 font? Holy sh-t! LOLOL I'm speechless–almost. God bless, koishii. Sorry the chapter was so short.

**Steph:** Stephie! Oh so sorry to hear about your horse. :( Heat in the hooves is not a good thing. Very painful if I recall, and I'm not surprised he bit your teacher. (She should have been more careful–more her fault than his, you know.) I hope he's better by now. Should be.

I know this chapter was waaaaaaaaaaaaaay shorter than usual. I'm just having such a rough time personally at the moment, it's hard to focus. But, I hope you liked it anyway. I'm always so glad to see you here. I always think the same thing. _"It's my cowgirl, yippie!"_ Corny, huh? ;)

**Sick Galaxy:** YEAH! She's back! She's Back! She's back! Wonder what's in her pocket?

:"( Oh, dear... sorry about the guinea pig, and your friends dog... that sucks. I know how rough that can be. My old cat is getting ready to turn 19 this summer, and I know it's only a matter of time until I wake up and find her cold and stiff in the house somewhere. Not looking forward to that. (sniffle) Feeling selfish now about wanting you to come back so badly...but still so happy you did. I missed you.

**Kik-ting:** I'm so happy you're here. I know about things getting in the way of other things. Look how long it took me to get back to this. Gomen, my friend. I missed you. I hope your life is settling back down to a tolerable pace. Please, don't fall asleep on your laptop... you'd get all those funky little imprints on your face from the keys. wink

**kagomefan:** Gomen nasai. I know the update is very long in coming. Sessha is sorry.

**Videl621:** _OMG!_ falls on the floor in a dead faint. **THUD**

**The 1 and only Bret:** You are not rude. Don't ever think that. I often confuse myself when it comes to numbers and the like. I appreciate anything that people/fans point out to me that I've screwed up on. Especially stuff like that. I can't really change it now that the story is almost over, but if I ever go back and rewrite it... I will. Thank you for taking the time and pointing it out to me. And thank you for reading. I'm pleased your enjoying it. I hope you drop me another few lines. God Bless, Bret.

**Hannah:** That is a wonderful compliment. Thank you. bows humbly

**Kaoru4:** You read the _whole_ thing? In _one_ sitting? Was your butt dead when you got up? ;)

Thank you for your kind words. I hope you enjoyed this chapter–even though it was painfully short.

**Beowulf31486:** I am so glad to see you again. I appreciate what you said about the reincarnation comparison. I am humbly flattered. (_bows)_ Also, the review itself has left me utterly speechless. You feel honored to review my story? No one has ever said that to me before. I don't know what to say. (_kneels and presses forehead to floor)_ Arigato, shin-yuu. Sessha is humbled and deeply touched by your words and will never forget you have spoken them. Arigato.

**Stardust Angel2:** I feel slightly embarrassed and confused... has it been so long since I've been to any of my publish sites that I have forgotten people who have reviewed me? You say you have read my other stories and yet I cannot bring your name to mind. _(kneels and bangs head on floor in shame)_ Gomen nasai, Tenshin-sama, Sessha is a fool with a weak mind. Sessha begs forgiveness and pleads you do not abandon her for her stupidity.

**Hiki:** Gomen nasai, my friend. The update was long in coming. Sessha is very sorry. :(

**Skenshingumi:** Thank you for your kind words. Gomen nasai for the lateness of the update. Sessha is ashamed. :(

**Luraia Soul:** Konichiwa, Shin-yuu. It is good to see you again. Sessha begs your pardon for the lateness of the update. Many things have been trying her mind, and writing has been difficult. You have been with her for so long... you are highly valued. Sessha sees your name and always thinks of a wavering wisp of pale blue mist. It has always been so... since the beginning. God bless, dear one... thank you for staying with Sessha.

**Kanna-chii:** You read this _non-stop_? The _entire_ manuscript? Who is your friend? I would like to thank them. I rarely know/or ever hear of people who suggest my stories, but when I do, I like to tell them thank you. It means a great deal to me. Thank you for your kind words. Gomen that the update was so long in coming. I hope you enjoyed it.

**RogueSummersLover:** Gomen for the untimely update. Sessha hopes you are still out there reading. Sessha apologizes for the wait.

**BelleDayNight:** I can see you're reading it. LOLOL... Eventually, don't we finally/always get to each others stuff? LOLOL Love you, Belle. Talk to you soon.

**KCSobe:** Will be updating my Affiliates page this week. I will be adding your 'temporary' webpage. :) Thank you for wanting to post this story on your site. I am more than humbly flattered. God bless both of you. Keep in touch.

**Kean:** Sweet Kean, I am beginning to crawl my way out of the pit of despair I've been living in the last 2 months. Thank you for the concern. You are one of the special people whose words have always meant so much to me. Your support and encouragement... your honest opinions. You have been a steady rock that has held me up for a long time. If I never told you that, then I should have. Thank you, my shin-yuu. You are always in my heart.

**Kira:** Thank you for dropping me a review. I was just finishing the update when you did. It made me smile the way you worded it. :)

I have to tell you something–bear with, it's sort of corny, but it means something special to me. I have a unique affinity for the Inuyasha character 'Sesshoumaru'. I think he is beautiful beyond comparison. I have always wondered why the cartoonist/author never gave him his own girl... a lot of fanfiction authors pair him with Kagome, including myself, and I like that-to a point, but I have still always wished he had his own girl. In my own mind, I made up a character for him. She is an inu-kitsune (half fox half dog demon). She has long black hair, green eyes, a black tail and black ears. Her name is... Kira. Then one day, not long ago, maybe a month, I was searching the net looking for pictures for my fanart galleries (for my website) and I found some of the most beautiful Sesshoumaru portraits I'd ever seen. They had him paired with a beautiful inu female with silver hair and gold eyes. Her name was... Kira. I almost fainted. I wrote the artist and begged to post them all on my webpage. I told her the same story I just told you... she gave me permission to post anything off her Gallery I wanted. We are now good friends.

When I saw your name this morning... I almost fainted. I will never forget you simply because you have the name of my own Original Character. You will be forever fused to my brain.

God bless, Kira.


	27. Bloody Hands

This is for everyone who is still with me after all this time. Sessha begs humble forgiveness that there will be no review responses. The next chapter was already written before tragedy came to her home so it will be out soon. Gomen nasai... but Sessha's cat is dying and Sessha's mind is not on her work. Please forgive the lack of review responses and no that Tsuki-san loves all of you. She reads every review and knows all of her fans, and each one holds a special place in her heart. You are all my family... God Bless. Tsuki

Chapter twenty-seven

**Part One-Bloody Hands **

Sedgemont, New York

Early Spring, 1818

"How can you possibly stand there and tell me that my very own son plans to take my life? You are insane. Daniel... Daniel is a good son. He may not be the perfect son, but he is good boy nonetheless." Reverend March stared hard into the faces of his four guests, one of which he thought was his youngest son, Elliot, but he was beginning to fear was most definitely not. "I must sit down."

"I think that would be prudent, Reverend." Kaoru rushed to the old man's side and attempted to assist him to a near by chair.

"No, no..." The Reverend pulled away from the young girl's helping hands, a look of distrust and fear on his old face. "Please...I can manage on my own, Thank you." He winced slightly when he saw the look of worry and hurt reflected on her familiar features. She looked like Cassandra O'Massy, but if the crazy words being spoken to him were true, she was not. He grabbed the back of the old wooden chair in one gnarled hand and gently lowered himself onto the hard seat. "Please," he looked up into 'Elliot's' face. "Tell me again 'who' you are."

Aoshi sighed, shut his eyes, and then moved over next to the old man, kneeling down beside him. This was not an easy thing. "Forgive me, Reverend. I have never been very good at such things, and finding the proper way to tell you this is more than difficult, but the truth of the matter is I am not your true son. My name is Aoshi Shinomori and as hard as it is to accept, I am from a future time many years from now. I am also much younger than Elliot. In my life, I am only eighteen years old. If I am to understand your son correctly, it would seem he is closer to twenty or twenty-two, yes?"

"Elliot will be twenty-two this coming June. Daniel is nearing his twenty-fifth year this Fall." The Reverend looked at Aoshi briefly, shook his head and then started to rub his forehead with his hand.

Aoshi nodded. "I thought it was something like that. You see, Reverend, in our time, we are all young adults of a same age. Edmond and Ethan there are brothers."

"Brothers?"

"Yes, brothers. Kenshin Himura and Soujiro Seiguro, respectfully. Kenshin's mother married Soujiro's father... they share a younger sister named, Cleo."

"This is all so fantastic... so unbelievable. How can Ethan O'Massy and Edmond Fetlock be brothers?"

"The same way that your son Daniel is Soujiro's father... and Kenshin's step-father."

"Oh Dear Lord in heaven... it cannot be. You are insane... insane." The Reverend cradled his head in both hands and began to moan. "It's lies, all lies. Reincarnation is of the Devil. Only a witch can reincarnate... only witchcraft can bring back a spirit from beyond the grave. You are all of the Devil... the Devil... the Devil..."

"No, Reverend, we are not of the Devil." Aoshi bowed his head and closed his eyes, trying to find a way to make this man believe him. The times they were currently stuck living in were not helping the situation. The superstition and fear of witchcraft was nearly at a saturation point. Anything that couldn't be explained was immediately of the Devil and labeled witchcraft. He needed a break and he needed it soon.

"In our world, Reverend, Daniel is a man called Hiko Seiguro. He is a powerful man in business as well as in personality, but he is abusive and cruel. He has a drinking problem and he takes his anger out on his family. He beats his wife, Kenshin's mother, and both of his sons. Just before we were brought here, Daniel surfaced within him and we learned about Cassandra."

"Cassandra?" The Reverend's eyes rose to lock with Aoshi's gaze. "What did he tell you about Cassandra?"

"There is an old lighthouse near the town where we all live. It's named, Somber Man, and there has been a legend for about 300 years that the Lighthouse keeper murdered his wife there and then killed himself. It's supposed to be haunted. We all went there one night to find out. To our dismay, we discovered it was true."

"There are no such things as ghosts, young man. There are only evil spirits."

"Part of that is true, Reverend, but your wrong in the other case. There are ghosts. I met Cassandra O'Massy. She called me 'Elliot' and she called Soujiro 'Ethan'. I saw her looking at me from inside this girl's eyes. Kaoru Kamiya. She is what remains of Cassandra. We are all what remains of our former selves. But Daniel, he possessed Hiko's body completely in our time. When we were forced here, he was locked in a duel with Edmond, who was trapped inside of Kenshin's body."

"Impossible."

"What we know as fact now is this: every single one of us dies at Daniel's hands. He murders Ethan in a pistol duel after the boy discovers he's beating Cassandra and caused her to miscarry. He murders Elliot when he finds out he helped Cassandra and Edmond escape..."

"Escape? What are you talking about? Why would Cassandra and Edmond be escaping anywhere?"

"Because they are in love, Reverend. Cassandra O'Massay and Edmond Fetlock fall in love. That is one of the reasons Daniel starts to beat her. The others are simply because he is a cruel and foul man despite what you think you know of him."

"I...I don't know... I had no idea."

"No one does." Aoshi cast a glance over at Kenshin and saw his friend glowering at the floor. "Daniel is able to get the information out of Elliot where the lovers have gone before he dies, and he follows them to New York. Edmond is the Lightkeeper, but it is Daniel that murders Cassandra. He throws her from the crowswalk when Edmond is gone. Then, later, he comes back for Edmond and shoots him in the head."

"Holy Father..."

"Every one of us, Reverend, died by his hand."

"Why? Why would he do such a thing?"

"Pride." Kenshin finally broke his silence and walked forward, kneeling on the other side of the old man. "Everything is about 'Pride' and 'Power' to Daniel. He wants everything you have, and he wants control of all the people here in Sedgmont. Cassandra is the daughter of the richest vender in town, and most likely the prettiest girl as well. That makes her the best, and he wants everyone to envy him. At the moment there are only two things standing in his way of getting what he wants."

"What things?" Green eyes met amethyst.

"Getting married to Cassandra... and you."

"Me? What do you mean by that? How am I standing in his way?"

"We've been wracking our brains for what feels like forever trying to figure all of this out, Reverend March. You have no idea what a nightmare it has been for us trying to put the pieces together. For awhile there, I was pretty sure we were all crazy, my self the most, but I have had to admit... we not. We've been crawling around in the dark chasing ghosts and dusty clues, but it took being shoved back here to finally figure it out."

"Figure what out? I'm sorry, young man, but I don't understand any of this."

"I can't say I blame you. Neither did we until just a little while ago. You see, during this whole thing, none of us could figure out why we were being brought back together after 200 years. What was the purpose? Okay, maybe it was to make up for the fact that Edmond and Cassandra were supposed to be together. Fine, Kaoru and I have done that. Then other things started to happen that pointed in a whole new direction. There was a much bigger problem to solve."

"What sort of a problem?" The Reverend leaned forward, regarding the redhead with serious eyes.

"We finally decided that someone had died that wasn't supposed to . . . that was after we got sent here. Apparently we are supposed to stop that from happening. The future wasn't supposed to turn out the way it did, and we're the ones that have to keep the past from happening the same way again. I'm thinking this is a one shot deal-no second chances, you know. If you don't succeed, all bets are off and everything stays the same, which means back in my time, I'm probably dead."

Reverend March reared back with a stunned and horrified look. "Dead? How can you know that?"

"I, we, Edmond and I, were in a duel with the Hiko/Daniel guy. We were playing with real swords, mind you, and I had cut off his hand and wounded him in the chest, but the last thing I remember was him getting me on a sucker bluff with a knife in the gut." Kenshin scowled blackly. "Dirty bastard. He did that after I helped him and kept him from bleeding to death too. He never did play fair..."

"He stabbed you AFTER you aided his wounds?"

"Yes," Kenshin's eyes flashed amber for a moment. "Eddy and I were just going to leave him there and let him die, but neither one of us had that much malice in us to do it, so we tied a tourniquet around his wrist and packed his chest."

"After he was trying to kill you?" The Reverend's voice was soft and incredulous.

"Yes, neither one of us could just walk off and leave him there. We should have... God knows, we should have."

The Reverend sat quiet for long moments just looking down at his worn leather boots. One hand cupped his forehead while the other rested on a knee. Kenshin and Aoshi exchanged worried looks but remained where they were. They knew the look of deep thought when they saw it, so they kept quiet and waited to see what the old man would say.

"This 'Hiko', he is your step-father?"

"Yes," Kenshin replied in an even tone.

"He beats you?"

"Yes. Since I was little."

"Does he beat you more than the others?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he hates me the most."

"Why is that?"

"Because I am defiant of him and because I wouldn't let him hit my mother or my brother."

"You took beatings for them?"

"Yes."

"This hatred you speak of, was it always there or did it come gradually?"

"It was always there, but it worsened as I got older."

"I see. And his animosity toward your brother, his son, was it always there?"

"No. It was a gradual thing that became worse the closer Soujiro and I became."

"Did you go to this lighthouse with the others?"

"Yes."

"Did you see ghosts?"

"I saw Cassandra and Daniel."

"Did they look like this girl and your step-father?"

"Like Kaoru, yes. Like Hiko... not quite. Daniel was very young. Hiko is in his forties. The resemblance dawned on all of us later, and then it was most definite."

The Reverend fell silent again and Kenshin looked back at Kaoru in confusion. She shrugged and looked at Soujiro who looked at Aoshi. None of them knew what to think. They would have to wait again. Obviously the old man was sifting through something in his mind.

"What about this younger sister you speak of? How does she fit into any of this?"

"Umm, we are not altogether positive, but... we believe she was meant to be Edmond and Cassandra's child. While Eddy and I were dueling with Daniel, I saw Eddy remember that she had been pregnant with his child. It really tore him up because they were excited about the baby, and he blamed Daniel for killing both of them. So, we think Cleo could be Edmond and Cassandra's baby. She looks just like me but has Kaoru's blue eyes."

"What would happen to the child now should something happen to your step-father?"

"I'm nearly nineteen now and I don't think my mother would object. I would take her and Kaoru and I would raise her."

"Then you plan to marry this girl?"

"Yes."

Again there was silence.

"You believe I am the first murder Daniel commits, don't you?" Maxwell March turned and looked Kenshin directly in the eyes. "He will wait until after I perform his wedding to Cassandra next week and then he will find a way to get rid of me, yes?"

"That is what we believe, yes."

"He would then take my place as parish reverend and rule over this town with a fist of iron and unrighteous dominion, yes?"

"Yes, Reverend."

"So...You believe if you save me, you will save the rest of yourselves and keep whatever is wrong with the future from being, yes?"

"Yes." Kenshin's voice dropped to whisper.

"I think I understand, but you are wrong about one thing, young Mr. Himura."

"What's that?"

"It is Daniel that needs to be saved, not I." The four teenagers all gapped in astonishment at the old man as his gaze rounded the room. "We must find a way to stop him from becoming what he intends to be and save his soul. That is the only way the future will be altered of its pathway."

"I–I don't understand." Kenshin was in complete shock. "Why do you say that?"

"All men are innately good, Mr. Himura, even the evil ones, and my son is no different. It is your step-father who must be saved, not I. It is his soul that must be brought back from the brink. We must stop Daniel from realizing his sinful ways. He must be made to see what he is becoming. Only then can he be forgiven by God and the stain be lifted from his soul."

"Are you telling me that we were sent back here to save that fucking animal from himself?"

Fury roiled in Kenshin's belly as he climbed to his feet. "I don't think I can believe that. Why? You tell me why because at the moment, I'd rather go put a gun to his head and blow him all the way to hell before I'd spend one minute trying to save him."

"How happy can a tortured soul be, Mr. Himura? How content and carefree can it be when it carries the guilt and blood of six... no, seven lives upon its hands?" The Reverend stood up and faced the window, looking out onto the street. "The power of the Devil is strong and will give the weak man a false sense of strength. That is why he feels superior and clever, but in truth, he is nothing more than a puppet, and when the deeds are done, he reaps no reward. The only prize that awaits him is his own pit of despair and grief. There is no forgiveness for the murder of innocents unless penance is made, and in Daniel's case, he turned his back on God. Therefore, his soul has spanned the ages to become something evil and filled with self-loathing and rage." He turned and faced Kenshin again. "You are his greatest enemy."

"I know, but why? Because I had the love of the woman he wanted?"

"Yes, and no." The Reverend approached the confused redhead and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, because he could never gain her love. He was too tainted with the sin of my murder and then those of his brother and hers. No, because the love of this woman was just something he wanted because of whom and what she represented. You are his greatest enemy because you are everything he could never be. Honorable, kind, gentle, loving, and loyal. He hates you more than he desires the love of his own wife, and instinctively, even in this next life you're living, he still hates you because you are the better man."

Kenshin dropped his gaze before the reverend's steady look and swallowed hard. He had never thought about any of those things before. The instinctive hatred issue they had already decided on, but not for the reasons the old man just mentioned. He wasn't sure what to say. He didn't feel like a better man. He just wanted to go home, curl up with Kaoru, and sleep for ten hours.

"How do we do this then?" He asked, meeting the old man's eyes once more. "We obviously can't kill him. So what do we do?"

"I'm not sure," The Reverend squeezed Kenshin's shoulder. "I need to pray on it for a while. God will help us find a way. God will know what to do."

"I hope so," Kenshin mumbled as the old man walked away. "Because I'm all out of ideas."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Aoshi stood outside of the church, watching the people walk by in their strange clothes and carrying the odd basket or two filled with bread, vegetables, or other goods. Every so often someone would nod in his direction and wish him a 'good morning'. Politely as he could, he nodded back and offered the same. In his mind, he couldn't help wondering just what his counter part was really like. Was he as stiff and uncomfortable with people as Aoshi was himself? Did he feel like a foreign body trying to mix in with he normal stream of things, or was he part of the even stream himself?

"Good morning, Master March. How are you fairing this day?"

A gentle, feminine voice jolted Aoshi out of his thoughts and he lifted his head to find a middle aged woman looking at him with mild concern on her face. Her eyes were a dark brown, and there were wisps of blonde hair fluttering out from beneath her bonnet.

"I am well, Mistress." He replied, trying to recall how these people addressed one another. "And how are you this day?" He extended his hand and took hers for a moment to help her up on the boardwalk. "You are well?"

"Oh yes. I have no complaints, thank-you." She smiled at him as he released her hand. "How is your father? I heard several days passed that he was feeling poorly. Is he improving?"

"Aye, he is well today." Aoshi tucked his hands behind him and inclined his head to the woman. "He never seems to stay ill very long."

"No, that he doesn't. He has one of the strongest constitutions I have ever seen in a man of his years. I suppose that is why God chose him to care for the spiritual well-being of our community."

"Aye, he does worry over much about the parishioners, but that has always been his way." Aoshi hoped he was speaking the truth. The reverend struck as that sort of person and it felt right describing him as such. "But he should rest more. He isn't a young man any longer."

"No," the woman's brow furrowed as she consider her next words. "Do you think he will be leaving us soon to cross over to the other side, Master March?"

Aoshi was startled by the woman's question. It was almost ironic that she asked it considering what he and the others doing here. He hoped she was wrong for several reasons, the least of which was that the town needed the stability the old man provided. It was getting clearer to him just how important a role the religious leader played in this point of time. He almost had more power than those who wielded the law. He could manipulate the law makers if so chose to, and that kind of control would be devastating if it fell into the hands of a dishonest man. A man like Daniel.

"I don't believe so, Mistress." he tried to manage a gentle smile. "I believe he may yet out live all of us."

"Indeed, God knows how much we need him." She nodded and then reached out and patted Aoshi on the arm. "You're a good son, young Elliot." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "It is you who should be gaining the parish when your father passes, not your brother. You are the one the parishioners would follow. Daniel wears a false face and does not have the heart of a Reverend, but you do." Then she turned and hurried down the boardwalk toward the general store, leaving a gapping Aoshi behind her.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Dr. Michael Hoffman looked down into the pale, almost gray face of the young, red-haired boy, laying on the gurney. The kid couldn't be more than seventeen or eighteen at the most. He looked younger, but the number of teeth in his mouth made him older, and he was told the boy's mother was out in admissions filling out paperwork. _'That should help.' _

What he wanted to know was why was the kid dressed like a colonial gentleman, and where in the hell had he gotten his hands on an authentic Japanese sword? Mike shook his head and looked at the vital signs monitor. Pulse rate, respirations, and blood pressure were stabilizing, but the kid was no where near out of danger. The stab wound in his gut had punctured his liver and he was bleeding like a sieve. He needed emergency surgery or he was a goner._ 'Just a couple more minutes, kid. Pull your pressure up just a bit more so I know you aren't going to code the minute they open you up.' _

On the gurney next to them was the older man. His wounds were significant, but at the moment none were severely life-threatening. The bleeding in his right wrist was being controlled with a tourniquet, and the slash across his chest was tightly packed. There didn't seem to be any notable blood loss, and he was taking fluids well through the 18 gauge IV in his left arm. He would be going up for surgery soon. They were waiting for the Orthopedic specialist to come and assist with the repair on his right hand. Thankfully the people who found this man were with the program and saved the hand. There was a good chance it could be reattached.

But the kid was another story. He was a time bomb. They needed to get him under the knife and they needed to do it soon. His amount of blood loss was staggering which meant one of the main blood vessels going to his liver must have been damaged.

Mike looked up at the bag of O negative blood hanging on the IV pole. It was the second one they'd pumped into the kid. _'You're dumping it out just about as fast as we're putting in, aren't ya, kid. Damnit! Pull your pressure up so I can get you outta here. Come on...' _

"Dr. Hoffman?"

"What is it, Mary?"

"The boy's name is, Kenshin Himura. He's eighteen...almost nineteen. This man is his step-father, Hiko Seiguro. He's some big Lawyer up in New York. According to the police report I just got, it looks like the father attacked the son first."

"How so? The kid's only got one wound and he did some major damage to the old man before he got it."

"They say the father struck him over the head and shoulders with a chair. They found bits and pieces of wood with blood and red hair on them."

"A head wound?" Mike looked down at the boy with narrowed eyes. "I didn't see a head wound."

"Well he's got hair like a lion, Doc. I wouldn't imagine anyone noticed." the woman smiled, patting the doctor on the arm. "Guess you should look for it now, huh?"

"Yeah. Tell Susan I need a sterile tray, will ya?"

"You got it."

"So, you got a head wound, eh? Let's just see about that, shall we." Tenderly Mike started feeling around on the boy's head, and as he fingered through the hair on the back of his skull, a sticky, crusty mass greeted him. "Ah ha. I guess you do. I suppose we should take a look and stitch it up, huh?" He turned and took the sterile tray from the nurse and instructed her to turn the boy's head so he could get at the wound.

"Wowsers! Now that's a head wound." Mike fingered a skin flap about three inches across and two inches deep along the bone of the skull. "You fought a sword duel with this thing on your head, not to mention the softball size bump that's going along with it? Damn! What kind of a kid are you?"

"A kind you've never seen before, Dr. Hoffman."

Mike turned toward the sound of a foreign voice and locked gazes with hard amber eyes. "Who are you, and what are you to this kid?" He asked as he finished cleaning the wound and reached for a suture needle.

"Hajime Saitou. I'm the Head Master at Ive Payne. Kenshin is one of my Seniors, but I am also his legal guardian and have been for the last three years."

"Legal guardian? I thought someone told me this guy over here is his step-father and that his mother was filling out paperwork in admissions?"

"Yes, that is all true, but I am still his legal guardian. I know it's confusing, but it's a long story. Can you tell me how he is?"

"Not good, Mr. Saitou. He's lost a lot of blood and he's still losing it. I'm trying to get his blood pressure stable enough to send him to surgery, but he may force me to send him regardless. He doesn't have a lot of time."

"I see," Saitou looked at the blood drops peppering the floor around the gurney. "What are his chances of survial, Doctor?"

"I don't really know. He's a kid, kids are stronger than adults in that they bounce back faster from trauma, but if they can't repair the damage to his liver... there's not much of chance."

"So, you're saying we may lose him regardless of the efforts to save him? The damage may be too great?"

"Yes. That is an honest opinion. I'm sorry. I wish I had better news for you." Mike pulled the last stitch through the skin and tied it off. "Is he some kind of a special kid, or something?"

"You could say that." Saitou waited for the nurse to move and then he walked up next to Kenshin's head, looking down into his still, pale face. "Extraordinary is probably a better word."

"Really?" Mike looked at the expression on the teacher's face and then looked back down at the boy. "What makes him different from any other kid?"

"Because he's the smartest kid I've ever met, and the cockiest. And because he just put his life on the line for everything he loves most in this world, facing the Devil himself."

"Huh?" Confused blue eyes searched Saitou's face. "I don't follow."

"You don't have to, Doctor. Just know that this is one of those kids who gets lost in the cracks, swept under the carpet, and used for someone else's excuses, but despite all of that, he still has the honor and inner strength to stand up for the truth and what he knows is right. Even if it kills him." Saitou leaned down next to Kenshin's ear and laying a hand on the clammy pale forehead, whispered, "You were right about everything, Kenshin. You aren't what anyone thought you were. None of us ever even gave you a chance to be anything but what we expected you to be. I'm sorry, son. I'm so damn sorry." Gently he stroked the heavy red hair, gazing into the angelic looking face. "You are the finest young man I have ever known, and it has been my honor to know you. I wish I had known you better–that is my fault. I never tried. Forgive me, if you can. You aren't a bad kid, Kenshin. You're what every kid wishes he could be. You're the best of them all. I would be proud to call you my son. Indeed I would." A tear slipped down the stern, stony features and he dropped his head onto the pillow next to Kenshin's head. "You have the fiercest fighting spirit I have ever known, Kenshin, and I'm asking you to use it now. Fight for yourself. You've been fighting for everyone else for so long and trying to protect them from getting hurt. Now it's time to use that strength for yourself. Fight, boy. Fight for your life. You and I have far too much to talk about for you to check out now. So, fucking fight for your right to live... and live."

Suddenly the monitor next to the gurney began to beep and the lights on the front of it were blinking and flashing. Mike jerked around and looked at the numbers that were appearing on the screen and gasped.

"His pulse rate is fluxuating, and his BP is dropping. Get the crash cart! Code Blue! Code Blue!"

Saitou raised up with wide, horrified eyes and backed away from the bed. The small room filled with nurses, technicians, and equipment as the Code went into effect. Someone shouted for EKG leads and then someone else was calling for gloves. It was chaos and terror all mixed into one, and Kenshin was in the middle of it. _'Please God, don't do this... not now. Please...not now.' _

The sound of a long alarm filled the room and Saitou heard the words he feared the most.

"We've got a flatline... bag him and charge the paddles."

"I'm gonna hit him with a hundred... everyone clear."

_FZZZT_

"Nothing..."

"Recharging to three-hundred... clear."

_FZZZZT_

"Nothing..."

"Recharging..."

_It was dark where he was, but not so dark that he couldn't see where he was going. There was a pathway winding away in front of him and he took it, walking through a grove of trees. He could smell roses and jasmine. It reminded him of Kaoru and he smiled, remembering how it felt to hold her close. Like holding a piece of the universe in his arms. She made him feel whole again. He missed her. _

_Ahead he could see that the sun was starting to rise, turning the sky a beautiful lavender-toned pink with shades of gold and blue. Now he could make the shapes of a snow-covered mountain range in the distance, and found himself walking along an old dirt road flanked by green meadows filled with wild flowers and butterflies. It was a beautiful place, peaceful and quiet. Scratching the back of his head as he often did when he was confused, Kenshin looked from one side to the other, then turned and looked behind him at the forest he'd just left. _

'_What am I doing here?' he thought, pursing his lips and scratching again. 'How did I get here, and where is here, for that matter?' He didn't recognize anything he looked at but it didn't seem to be very distressing. He was just confused. Shrugging and kicking at a stray stone, he continued to follow the road. _

_He wasn't sure how long he walked, but time passed by without notice or concern as he enjoyed the serenity of his surrounding. Then, as he topped a small hill in the road, he saw a small log cabin in the distance. A lazy tendril of smoke curled up from the chimney and a white dog lay sleeping next to the front door. There was something familiar about the dog. He narrowed his gaze, trying to remember, but nothing came to mind, so he just walked the rest of the way to the cabin. _

_"Hi, there." He greeted the dog, who looked at him with soleful brown eyes. "Is your master at home?" The dog raised it's head and started to pant, then it leaped to it's feet and bounded over to him, jumping on his chest where it began to lick his face with ardent enthusiasm. "Hey, what's the big idea?" Kenshin laughed and scratched the dogs flanks before lowering him to the ground. "All I wanted to know was if anybody was home, I didn't expect a bath in the bargain." _

_"He's just glad to see you again, Small Tiger. It has been many years for both of you." _

_Kenshin looked up and saw a man standing in the doorway of the cabin. His face was in shadow, but he was leaning nonchalantly against the frame in a pose that struck a cord in the red-head's mind. "How do you know that name?" He asked. "No one ever called me that except my..." _

_"Except your father." The man walked out into the light and looked into the stunned face of the boy standing in his front yard. "I remember well." he said. "I was the one who gave it you." _

_"D-dad?" Kenshin stared at a man he only remembered from his early childhood. His eyes were gray with thick lashes in a handsome, clear featured face. Dark, auburn hair curled around his shoulders and down his back. It was almost as long as Kenshin's, but the man wore his loose. "Is that really you?" _

_"Well, if it isn't, I'm doing a pretty good impression of myself. Don't you think?" Ishida Himura grinned, his eyes twinkling. "What does your heart tell you, Kenshin?" _

_"I... you're not as tall as I remember." _

_"You were a lot smaller then, ding-a-ling." Laughter filled the peaceful world and Ishida watched his son blush redder than any girl. "I hope you aren't this stupid with that girl-friend of yours. If you are, you'll never get married." _

_"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Violet eyes flared and Kenshin stepped closer to his father, who was only a few inches taller now. "I talk to her just fine, and we are going to get married, so..." _

_"Okay, okay. Calm down. Sheesh! I forgot what a little hot head you could be." More laughter echoed as the man put his arm around his son's shoulders. "Come on inside, son. We have a lot to talk about." _

_"Okay, but dad?" _

_"Hmm?" _

_"What's the dog's name?" _

_"Don't you know? He was your dog." _

_"I... ah..." _

_"And you're supposed to be some kind of a genius? Can't even remember the name of your own dog? Right." _

_"Dad..." Kenshin's voice was threatening as he eyed his father with amber tinged violet eyes. "The dog's name." _

_"Inu." _

_"Inu?" _

_"Um-hum." _

_"What sort of a lame-assed name is that for a dog?" _

_"It's Japanese, stupid. It means 'dog'." _

_"Oh my God. You are kidding." _

_"Nope. And you were the one who picked it out." _

_"I'm going to kill myself." _

_"Shut-up and come inside. The only way to deal with you is to feed you. And here I thought when you grew up you'd change. What a disappointment." _

_"We can't all be perfect." _

_"No shit." _

_"Dad!" _

_Laughter filled the cabin as Ishida Himura shut the door. _

"...clear."

_FZZZT_

"It's still a flatline, Dr. Hoffman. What do you want to do?"

"Dammit... come on kid. You gotta give me something to work with here."

"Doc?"

"Recharge... five-hundred."

"Jesus, you'll fry his heart with that much."

"What's he got to lose, Jerry? He's already dead."

"Fine... charging..."

**OOOOOOOOOOOO**

Kaoru burst out of the church and ran up to Aoshi, panting, her eyes wild with worry.

"What's wrong?" He asked, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"It's Kenshin... he just callapsed in the middle of the Chapel... I can't get him to wake up." A dry sob clogged her throat. "I can't find his pulse, Aoshi. I think he's dead."

**Part Two-The Mirror of A Soul **

_He woke up in the middle of a green, grassy meadow, butterflies flitting around the tip of his nose. He felt groggy and heavy limbed as he tried to sit up, and the pounding fury of his skull dragged a low groan from his throat. A rush of nausea washed through him and he lowered his head between his knees, praying it would pass. There was nothing worse than vomiting first thing in the morning. _

_"Bloody hell," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and his forehead with the other. "I haven't felt this terrible since... since..." His head snapped up and his eyes blew open. The last thing he remembered was watching Daniel throwing a knife at him and Kenshin. He grabbed at the tail of his shirt and jerked it up, revealing his bare mid-drift, but he couldn't find any evidence of a wound as his hand fluttered across the smooth skin. "How in the... what the hell is going on?" _

_His gaze was drawn skyward as a flock of birds flew overhead, the chaotic noise of their chattering catching his attention and drawing him into physical contact with the world around him. He was not where he used to be. This was not Hackler's Point, and he was not at the lighthouse. _

_"Where the hell am I . . . and where is Daniel?" Edmond struggled to his feet, wavering slightly in his balance as the blood rushed to his feet. Nothing around him was familiar. Off in the distance he could see the shape of a tall, bluish-gray mountain range, it's peaks capped with snow and surrounded with misty white clouds. A gentle breeze sifted through his hair and he could smell wild-flowers, but he could not discern north from south, nor east from west. _

_He was lost. _

_"Damn," he muttered, brushing his hands off on his breeches. "As if my life wasn't complicated enough." Angry eyes scanned the meadow and he picked a direction to start in. "Looks as good as any of the others." He said, clomping through the heavy grass. "May as well see where this leads me. God only knows what's happening now." _

_After only a few dozen strides, he came to an old dirt road. His confusion mounted as he looked up and down the dual tracks. It seemed well traveled, though he couldn't imagine by whom, but all the same, he decided to see where it would take him. Choosing the left, he turned and began to walk. He couldn't help but feel a little foolish. Here he was, out in the middle of nowhere, talking to himself like an idiot, and he didn't have idea one what he was doing. _

_"Ah me," he sighed, looking at the azure sky above him. "No use being contrary about it, Edmond, me boy. Just make the best of it." That's what Sandra would tell him. Sandra. Edmond frowned and scuffed a stone with his boot. 'Where is she?' he wondered, feeling the old ache of separation nagging at his soul again. 'I hope she's alright.' Flashes of memory stared to splinter through his mind and he could see himself, shoving her and that young girl out of the room, yelling at them to find Kenshin's friends. He knew it was their only chance, and he had to keep Daniel busy long enough for them to escape. _

_"Was I successful?" He asked himself as he topped a small rise in the road. "Did I save them?" He stopped in the middle of the road and ran a worried hand over his face, remembering the last words his beloved spoke to him before she disappeared out the door. _

_"Don't you dare get dead..." _

_Horror filled him as the implications of his own thoughts seeped into his logic. 'Dear God, am I dead? Is that where this is? The place dead souls go?' He looked around with wild, frantic eyes, trying to decide if he were right. 'It didn't look like this the last time I died.' He thought, taking several more steps and looking down the hill. 'The place I went before was dark and cold, and there was no air to breath . . . this is definitely not like that.' _

_If he was confused before, he was down right bewildered now. If this was heaven, he was in a lot of trouble. _

_"What's a log cabin doing in heaven?" Edmond's eyes narrowed as he noticed the small building about a quarter mile away, smoke drifting lazily out of its' chimney. "Now that is not something I would expect to see in heaven." Curiosity won over his confusion and he made for the cabin. It was only a short walk after all. _

_Once he reached the yard, Edmond felt a little nervous and self-conscious. He didn't know whose home this was, but it was obvious someone lived in it. Maybe they had some answers about what and where this place was, and how he could get out. Granted there was a way out. So, sucking in a deep breath, he threw back his shoulders and approached the door, knocking on it. _

_"What was that?" Kenshin looked up at his father. "Did you hear that noise?" _

_"Of course, I did. I'm dead, but I'm not deaf." Ishida raised an eyebrow at his son, and then shook his head. "You are really starting to make me wonder, boy. That you are." _

_"What? What did I say?" _

_"Do you think you are the only one involved in this dilemma, Kodora? Please don't tell me you are that arrogant to believe you are." _

_"What the fuck are you talking about, Dad? What dilemma?" Kenshin reared back in his chair and glared at his father. "And what are you talking about... dead? I know you're dead." _

_"Yeah, well, at the moment, so are you." Gray eyes pierced into shocked violet and then Ishida pushed himself away from the small wooden table and stood up. "Don't you remember anything?" _

_"Remember? What . . .what am I supposed to remember?" Kenshin was confused and frightened at the same time. Was he really dead? 'Kaoru!' _

_"There are more important things in this world than just yourself, son. One of them is on the other side of that door. I suggest you prepare yourself." _

_"But..." Wide eyes searched out the older man's face. "What should I be prepared for?" _

_"The world you left behind... the stuff you seem to have conveniently forgotten. It's about to grab you by the throat, Kodora. Are you prepared?" _

_"I... I guess so." _

_"Good. At least you aren't a coward." _

_"I've never been a coward, old man!" Kenshin rose to his feet, anger brewing in his amber shaded gaze. "I've never backed down from a fight in my life." _

_"I know that. I just wanted to see if it was still inside of you." _

_"What? If what was still inside me?" _

_"The 'ability to find your inner wolf'." Ishida looked at the growing circle of gold shimmering around his son and nodded. "It would seem you do. I am proud you didn't bury it or 'him'. You will need him where you're going." _

_"Dad, you aren't making any sense...even for a dead guy. What the hell are you talking about?" _

_"You have to go back, Kenshin. You can't stay here with me. It's not your time, but before you go, there are certain things that need to be done. This is the first one." Ishida grabbed the door and flung it open, and then watched as two sets of shocked violet eyes met, clashed, and fused together. "I believe you already know each other, yes?" _

_"K-Kenshin?" _

_"Eddy? Dear God, is that you?" Kenshin took several slow steps toward the man in the doorway while he was taking the same measured steps toward him. "This isn't possible. You're me...I mean, I'm you. How can we both be here at the same time?" _

_"I...I'm not knowing the answer to that question either, my friend, but it would seem, we are both here." Edmond's gaze shifted toward the third man in the room. "Where is here?" he asked, coming to a stop several feet inside the room. "Am I dead and is this... wherever it is that dead souls go?" _

_"Well, you are partly right, Edmond. You are dead, for the moment, but this is not heaven, if that is what you are wondering." _

_"Aye, it is." The older of the two red-heads slumped a little. "But if I'm dead, where am I, and who are you?" _

_"I'm Kenshin's father, Ishida Himura, and you are... well, you're in my cabin." _

_"Aye, I can see that, Master Himura, but 'where' are we?" _

_"That's a little harder to explain." Ishida offered a weak smile and motioned for the two men to come sit at the table. "I can't really tell you where you are, except that it's like a waiting room, or holding area for spirits who are in transition." _

_"Transition?" Edmond looked at Kenshin as they sat down, and then both of them looked at the older Himura. _

_"Yes. Although both of you are dead, neither of you is supposed to pass on, so you are here with me until we can figure out what needs to happen to keep you both alive...in your respective time periods." _

_"So, what you're saying is we both bought the farm, but we weren't supposed too?" Kenshin's face was full of skepticism. "I'm really sorry, Dad, but it all sounds like a bunch of shit to me at the moment. You were right, I had sort of forgotten about everything going on back in the 'world of the living', but I do remember we already found out that it didn't have anything to do with our deaths. It was the reverend and Daniel that needed to be saved. Not us." _

_"Daniel?" Edmond stared at Kenshin. "What are you saying, boy? Save Daniel?" _

_"I know, Eddy, I know... I said the same thing, but the old preacher explained everything and he's right. We have to save Daniel. We have to stop him before he starts his plan to take control of Sedgemont. That is the key to this whole fucking mess. Daniel's greed and want for all of that power." _

_"Aye," Edmond dropped his chin and looked at the edge of the table. "Perhaps...but what is it 'we' have to stop?" _

_"He's gonna kill his old man, Eddy. That is the key to starting the whole thing off..." _

_"No, that isn't right. That's not what happened. The Reverend died when he lost control of his horse and it threw him off the bridge into the river. Broke his neck. That's no murder, boy. That's just a rotten accident." _

_"Are you so sure, Edmond?" Ishida leaned over and looked the older redhead in the eye. "How easy it is to spook a horse, or put a burr under a saddle? There are any number of ways to 'instigate' an accident, but it is still murder." _

_Edmond fell silent and his face turned introspective. "There was never any question the reverend fell to his death..." _

_"How long after Daniel and Cassandra were married?" Kenshin leaned forward, searching the twin face of his own. _

_"Less than a week, as I recall." _

_"A little too convenient, don't you thing?" Kenshin exchanged a worried look with his father. "Daniel officiated at the funeral?" _

_"Of course, he was the leader of the parish by right of inheritance. There was no one else." _

_"How long did he mourn the loss of his father, Edmond?" Ishida leaned over the table. "A day, a week? Did he mourn at all?" _

_"The people thought he was cheerful because he was trying to be uplifting to them in all their time of loss during those days. Many looked on him as a pillar of strength for his behavior, though I thought it rather odd myself." _

_"Odd, indeed." A chair scraped the floor and Ishida stood up to walk across the room. "Who was responsible for saddling the reverend's horse, Edmond? Daniel or Elliot?" _

_"Daniel would be. He was the eldest son." Edmond's eyes grew round as he listened to himself answer and give the last shred of evidence needed to convince himself of the truth. Daniel murdered his own father in order to grasp the power of his position in the community, and he did it without remorse, guilt, or even one second thought. "Dearest Lord..." _

_"Indeed." _

_"What do we have to do, Master Himura?" _

_"The same thing you did at the Lighthouse." _

_"But...he killed us, didn't he?" Edmond exchanged an alarmed look with Kenshin. _

_"Perhaps, perhaps not. It depends on what happens in Sedgemont. If you alter the past, the present will follow." _

_"You mean, I won't be dead?" Kenshin stared at his father." _

_"No, you won't be dead, Kodora. The life you remember will not have even occurred." _

_"But, what about my memories? My family? Soujiro and Cleo? What about Kaoru!" _

_"Calm yourself. Trust me... everything will be as it should. Nothing you hold dear will be lost to you. Only the nightmare and pain will be gone." _

_"I still don't understand. If we change the past, won't that mean that none of us will be born the way we are now? Won't we end up somewhere else?" _

_Ishida moved to his son's side and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Please, trust me, Kenshin. Everything will be alright. By fixing this horrible wrong, God will not punish you by taking what you love away from you. I promise you that." _

_"Will I remember everything?" _

_"Of course, you lived it. It is still inside of you. Everyone involved will remember. It can be no other way. But now you have to understand that the only way you can accomplish what needs to be done, is if the two of you do it together. It must be both you facing Daniel or all of this will be for nothing." _

_"Why must it be both of us, Master Himura?" Edmond stood and walked to the other man's side. "You are suggesting we share my body and confront him as such, yes?" _

_"Yes, it is the only way." _

_"Why? I don't understand what our being together has to do with confronting Daniel. What significance does it have for him?" _

_"Eddy's right, Dad. As far as we can tell, Daniel hasn't been changed in the past like the rest of us. He's still just 'Daniel'. He won't know who I am." _

'_That's where you're wrong, Kenshin. Hiko is back there with the rest of you, but Daniel is such a strong-willed man he can't take control of his body. He's laying dormant beneath the surface of Daniel's conscious mind. It wouldn't take but the right kind of stimulation to bring him-and all the memories from the future with him-boiling to the surface. Trust me, son, Daniel will know exactly who you are. Both of you." _

_"Okay, if you say so." Kenshin stood up and sucked in a deep breath. "You ready for round two, Eddy?" _

_"Aye, indeed. Round two." He dropped a hand on Kenshin's shoulder and smiled. "It's quite a disconcerting feeling to touch myself and feel someone else, eh?" _

_"You said it. This whole thing is going to give me nightmares..." Kenshin grinned and grasped his alter-ego's forearm. "But I suppose it could be worse." _

_"How?" Edmond's eyes twinkled. _

_"We could be real twins." _

_"Lord have mercy!" Both men burst into laughter. Ishida shook his head. _

TBC

_**Alright, before anyone goes and starts spewing crap about time paradox and all that... I know already. But hey, it's my story, and I think I got it all worked out in the next chapter (which will probably come out quite quickly since I just seem to have this thing rolling). KnT**_


	28. The Lamplighter

_This is coming out very close to the last chapter because the whole thing pretty much came out at once. I would have uploaded it as one chapter...but that would have been painfully long. Anyway, it works better as two. They are both long as it is. Things are winding down for our AU Kenshin-gumi. It's been over a year since I started this story. I can't believe it's been that long, but it has. When this is finished, I will be focusing on __'__Do You Want to Live Forever?' and __'__Black Hawke'. __'__Black Hawke' is NC-17 and only available on or (penname Mangetsu); it will NOT be available on __'__Do You Want to Live Forever?' is here on or on and MediaMiner. The version on AFF and MM is unsensored and NC-17 for sexual situations. It is cut to pieces in that area when I upload it here._

_I don't know at this time if I will be writing anymore fanfics. I don't have any new ideas at the moment. But... I love this anime so much, as well as Inuyasha, I probably will. :) You guys are the greatest. We have come a long way together. You are my second family and I love all of you. I wouldn't be having the courage to work on a true and actual novel if it weren't for you... and that is the truth. You guys are the ones who gave me the confidence. Now I'm working with a professional editor who thinks the story I'm writing is publishable. I just have to make it work... and work very hard to get it right. I owe much to each of you who reads and writes reviews for me. Without the support of true fans/friends, I would have never tried to do this.  
God bless all of you.  
My heart belongs to you.  
Kanzen ne Tsuki_

Chapter Twenty-eight  
The LampLighter

Someone was crying and there were sounds of other voices milling around as well, but it was the pain that was really noticeable. It flared inside his chest and then radiated down both arms, into his back, and then up his spine where it exploded like fireworks on the Fourth of July. _'__Not again,'_ he groaned in his mind. _'__Didn't we just leave this party?'_

"How can what you're doing possibly be of help? It's looks like you're trying to cave the poor man's chest in."

"Where we come from, Reverend, this is called CPR, and it is a proven life-saving technique, so please stand back. Soujiro and I know what we are doing." Aoshi couldn't remember the last time he felt so much fear and panic mixed together inside of him. Not even at the lighthouse had he felt this close to losing his precious control, but seeing Kenshin looking very dead on the floor of the old chapel was pushing him closer to the edge than he had ever been. _'__Come on, Himura... breathe, dammit! Breathe.'_

"Do you need a switch, Aoshi?" Soujiro looked into friends face and felt a pang of fear stab through him. He could see the worry on the older boys face and he didn't like it. From what he knew of Aoshi, he wasn't one to let much of what he was thinking or feeling show unless it was important. He dropped his gaze to the still body of his brother. _'__Come on, brother. Don't give out on us now. We can't do this without you.'_

"No, Sou. I'm fine, just keep with the cadence and breath for him."

"I'm already there, man." He said, taking a deep breath and blowing it into Kenshin's mouth, watching closely to make sure his chest rose. Then he started counting off Aoshi's compressions in his head. _'__One and two and three and four and five. Breath. One and two and three and four and five. Breath. One and two and three...'_

_'__COUGH COUGHCOUGH COUGH COUGH!'_

"St-stop... Jesus... what a-are you t-trying to do? Kill me?" Spluttering and hacking, Kenshin rolled onto his side and crossed his arms over his chest. "God, my chest feels like you took a baseball bat to it."

"Are you okay?" Soujiro leaned over his brother and stared at him in complete astonishment. "I mean, are you feeling alright?"

"I guess so, considering what you were doing to me." He growled.

"Hey, you were dead, man! What were we supposed to do? Sit here and watch you turn to mold, or what?"

"Dead?" Kenshin looked between Soujiro's tight features and Aoshi's pale, blank face. "I was really dead? You sure?"

"Hey, man, you had no pulse, you weren't breathing. In my book that means your dead."

"Shit," Kenshin pulled himself up into a sitting position. "Then it was real. Sonofa..."

"That is just about enough profanity from you, Mr. Himura. This is still a house of God." The Reverend knelt down beside Kenshin's feet and stared into his pale face. "I listened for your heart myself, and it wasn't beating. You were quite dead. I'm sure of it. But I don't understand how any of this is possible."

"I told you," Aoshi's voice was bland and icy. "It's called CP..."

"It wasn't the CPR that brought me back, Aoshi. Sorry to tell you that after you obviously went to so much trouble to save my ass, but that's not what did it."

"Then what did, Himura? Because like the reverend said, you were definitely dead."

Kenshin's eyes wandered past his friend and started to survey the room. He was looking for something...or someone. "Kao?" He heard a shuffle and turned toward it. Her face was white with flushed cheeks, and her eyes were red. She'd been crying again. "Oh honey." Kenshin pushed himself to his feet and moved to take her in his arms. "I'm so sorry about all of this."

"I can't take anymore, Kenshin. I just can't. It's been enough. This has to stop, do you hear me? This has to stop." Then she buried her face in his shoulder and cried, clinging to him with desperate arms.

"I know, I know it has to stop. That's why I came back."

"What?" Kaoru looked up at him. "What do you mean? Where did you go?"

"Well," Kenshin's eyes softened as he gazed into her face, and then he turned to look straight at his brother. "My dad says 'hi'." Soujiro looked like he was going to pass out.

"Your dad? But Kenshin, your dad's..."

"Dead. Yeah, I know. There for a little while, so was I, so it would seem."

"You...you saw your father?" Kaoru touched his cheek.

"Yes. He looks just the same, just not as tall." Kenshin grinned and hugged Kaoru close. _'__I'm not going to lose you.'_ "But, ah... he's not the only one who was there."

"What does that mean?" Aoshi pinned Kenshin with a serious look. "Who else was there?"

"Edmond."

"Edmond?" Aoshi was incredulous. "That's impossible. The two of you can't be in the same place at the same time. You're... you're the same person for God's sake." Aoshi was finally losing his cool.

"I know. That's what I said. But he was right in front of me Aoshi. I touched him with my own hands and he was real."

"You mean you were both dead, don't you?"

"Whatever," Kenshin's patience was wearing thin. "It doesn't matter anyway. What matters is we figured out what we have to do to beat Daniel... before he kills someone... and not kill him in the process."

"Really," Aoshi calmed visibly. "And that would be?"

"We have to reach Hiko."

"Hiko? Hiko isn't here, Himura..."

"Yes, his is!" Pushing a gapping Kaoru behind him, Kenshin glared at the other three men. "He's inside Daniel. Daniel's just too strong for him to break through like we have, so we have to give him a little shove and help him out."

"What happens then?" Kaoru grabbed him from behind and spun him around. "Another pissing match between the two of you?"

"No," he gritted. "The four of us. Edmond's with me this time, and we're gonna all dance together."

"If that is true," Reverend March said, folding his hands behind his back and regarding Kenshin with sober eyes. "Then we have much to plan, yes?"

"Aye, Reverend. That we do." The voice of Edmond Fetlock slipped free of Kenshin's mouth and the violet eyes took on a sense of new maturity. "If we are going to save all of our souls, we must save Daniel's wretched ass first."

Reverend March finally reached the end of his endurance. His mouth gapped while his eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped quietly to the floor.

"He's had a lot to deal with in one day, Edmond." Kaoru tugged on the colonial man's sleeve, pulling his attention back to her. "He's just had a crash course in time travel and reincarnation. I think he's a little overloaded."

"Hmm, possible." Edmond looked down at the crumpled form of the preacher and then up into Aoshi's stunned eyes. "Would you mind?" he asked, indicating the body. "I think it would be prudent to get him to his bed, yes?"

"Of course, I'll help you." Aoshi's head was still swimming from the abrupt personality change as he helped Edmond lift the reverend off the floor. "I think his rooms are this way." The two of them carried the old man through a slender doorway and up a narrow staircase. It was not too difficult to recognize which of the three bed chambers lining the hallway was his, and they gently laid him on his bed.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Soujiro looked down at the unconscious man and pursed his lips. "He looks awful pale."

"He's nearly eighty years old, Master Soujiro. I should think he would be a touch pale, don't you?"

"Eighty? Damn, he looks good for being that old.."

"We should all be so lucky." Edmond turned to Kaoru and asked her to see if she could find a cup to put some water in. "I think he'll be wanting something to drink when he comes around."

"I'll be right back." she said, disappearing out the door. Her footsteps echoing in the small room as she walked down the hall.

"You and Kenshin were really dead... together?" Soujiro cast a wary look at Edmond, stuffing his fingers through the waistband of his breeches. "What was that like?"

"Strange, just like everything else that has been going on lately, be he was right. It will take the both of us together to bring Hiko out of Daniel, and that is the only way we will have a chance of altering his plans."

"But how? What does Hiko have to do with this?"

"The same as what all of us do. He's here to make sure everything happens the exact same way it did the first time."

"But from what we can tell, Daniel is clueless about 'everything' that's going on." Soujiro scratched his head in a perfect imitation of his brother, and Edmond chuckled.

"Indeed, but when we pull Hiko out of him he will."

"Are you certain of this, Edmond?" Aoshi looked worried as he turned his gaze back to the reverend. "There is a lot at stake if you're wrong."

"I realize that, Master Aoshi, but believe me, it is the only way."

"What about 'him'?" Soujiro leveled his gaze at Edmond and folded his arms across his chest.

"Whom?"

"You know, 'him', the scarey yellow-eyed guy. Does he fit into this anywhere, or is it just the two of you this time?"

"How do you know about 'him'?" Edmond looked uncomfortable. "I was not aware anyone knew, except Kaoru and Kenshin's father."

"Hey, come on, get real. I grew up with Kenshin. Do you think I could spend the majority of my life with him and not ever see 'the other' him that lived in there? Who do you think put up with Dad's beatings and stood up to him all the time? Dad used to call him 'a wild animal', but he looked more like a... a..."

"Wolf," Edmond supplied in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, a wolf. It always freaked Dad out, but I knew when I saw him, the old man wasn't going to get his fists on anybody. All hell was going to break loose, but at least Cleo and Mom were going to be ok... and me too." He dropped his head as if saying that made him feel ashamed. "That wild animal saved us more times than I really care to remember. If 'he' hadn't been there... well, I think Dad would have killed Kenshin a long time ago, but 'he' would never let him get enough punches in to do any serious damage. He took care of all of us...including Kenshin."

"I... I don't know what to say." Edmond turned away and met Kaoru's horrified face as she stepped through the door.

"It's true," Soujiro looked into Aoshi's pale, astonished face and then back at Edmond's stiff form again. "If it wasn't for 'him', I don't know what would have happened to us." He scratched his head again, and then walked around the foot of the bed to approach the silent red-head. "You made him . . . didn't you? The 'wolf' personality. He's yours, isn't he?"

"Aye," Edmond continued to look into Kaoru's face. "After Cassandra died . . . I... I went mad, I suppose you could say, and I nearly drank myself into hell's oblivion during the next six months. That's how long Daniel hid out before he came back for me, and by the time he got there, I was so mired inside my own grief, I didn't care what happened."

"What did happen, Edmond?" Kaoru set the cup of water on the table next to the reverend's bed, and then she turned and caught the man's disturbed look once more. "That is one thing we haven't really figured out in this whole mess. We pretty much know what happened to everyone else, but not you. All the records in Evermore said was you were found in the lamp room with a gun in one hand, a bottle of whiskey in the other, and a bullet in your head. One of the refracting panes was shattered, but no one ever found the bullet. They called it suicide, but it wasn't, was it?"

"No. I was too bloody depressed to kill myself, but I was packing my pistol. It was like a security blanket of sorts. Something to remind me that I had a way out of the pain if I chose to take it, but I knew I wouldn't be able to see Sandra if I did that... so I just carried it around with me."

"Loaded?" Kaoru was horrified.

"Aye. Loaded." Edmond moved passed everyone and stood to look out the window. "I knew it was me own fault she was dead. If I had listened to my own instincts and stayed... even if he killed us both, at least I could have been with her."

"What did he do to you, Edmond?" Kaoru moved to his side and put an arm around his waist. "I think it's time everyone knew what happened, don't you?"

"Aye, perhaps it is." He smiled gently at her, running a finger down the slope of her nose. "Aye, but you do look like her when she was alive, darlin'. So beautiful."

Kaoru blushed and dropped her head on his shoulder. "She's still here, Edmond, you know that, don't you."

"In some way I suppose I do. I can... I can feel her here." His chin moved to rest on top of Kaoru's head. "Tell her I love her, will you, sweetling?"

"She knows." Kaoru shivered as Edmond's arm rose to pull her close to his side. It was strange, but she could feel Kenshin so close. _'__I love you.'_ She whispered in her mind. _'__You better know that, tough guy.'_

"I will tell you what happened." He murmured almost to himself. "But there really isn't much point other than Sandra deserves to know the truth. Now that I know what that beast did to her... I suppose it is only right she should know what happened to me."

"Yes." Kaoru hugged him. "That is something she has always agonized over, wanting to know what happened."

"Then I'll tell it... but only once, Young Kaoru. Then we are finished with this. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

_Evermore_

_Somberman Lighthouse_

_1818_

_One more day passed, and when he opened his eyes, she was still gone. His bed was still just as empty as it was when he went to sleep the night before. He threw his arm over his face and tried to drown out the image of her face, but it was impossible. Her delicate features would be burned into his mind forever._

_  
"Sandra," he moaned, rolling over onto his stomach, burying his face in the pillow she used to sleep on. "I miss you. Oh my dearest love... I miss you." Hoarse sobs shook his shoulders and he gathered the pillow into his chest. There were still blood stains on it. He fingered them with almost trance like fascination. They were reminders. Reminders of what a weak-minded fool he was. Reminders that he left her to die at the hands of the worst human God ever created. His mind had fashioned a hundred different scenes of Daniel killing his beloved that would have left so many bloody spatters on her pillow... and the walls, and the ceiling, and the floor. He must have beaten her to a bloody mess. Edmond screamed, shredded the pillow case in his hands, rolled off the bed, and stumbled to the bureau._

_A half empty bottle of whiskey was setting in front of the mirror, and he grabbed it, bringing it to his lips. As the amber liquid burned a path of pain down his throat, he caught a look at himself in the mirror and froze, letting the whiskey drip off his chin and spill down his naked chest. _

_"That's not me," he whispered, staring at the apparition. "That can't be me." But as he lowered the bottle, the reflection lowered its as well. "Dear God, what have I done?" Shaggy red hair hung in matted strings over his shoulders and in his face, stark proof of how long it was since he'd bathed. His once bright, crystalline eyes were dull and a lifeless, grayish-lavender with deep red rings circling the bloodshot whites, and heavy, bruised bags sagging underneath. The color of his skin was a pasty gray, and he was so thin he looked more skeleton than man. The stubble of more than a week__'__s growth of beard covered his lean cheeks and chin, and the trembling of his body bespoke the lack of food in his diet. He looked like a corpse._

_Shame crept over him and turned from the accusation he saw lurking in his own eyes. __'__What would she be thinkin' of you now, Edmond, if she could see you?' He pressed his fingers into his eyes and pushed until he saw spots. He knew what she would say, but it really didn't make any difference. She was still dead, he was still alone, and he was still responsible._

_"God," he rasped, dropping the bottle to the floor with a hollow __'__clunck'. "Please, just let me die. I can't bare this anymore. I can't live without her anymore. Life means nothing with her with me. Please . . . haven't I suffered long enough? Isn't this enough?" Silence surrounded him and he slumped inward on himself. __'__No, it will never be enough. Living my whole life in pain will still not be enough for what I did. Oh Sandra, my beautiful Sandra. How do I live without you? How?'_

_He wandered over to the washstand and picked up a bathing cloth, staring at it like he never saw one before. Then he took the bar of soap in his other hand and proceeded to wash. It took him more than an hour before he was really clean. Shaving was the most difficult because his hands trembled, but he managed to scrape most of the whiskers from his face and neck without to many nicks._

_'__Ought to slit my bloody throat,' he mused morosely, looking at the straight blade, but he knew she would never approve of that, so he put it away and moved to the closet, reaching for a clean shirt, vest, and breeches. Then he was standing in front of the mirror again, looking at the reflection of a man who bore some minor resemblance to his old self. He was still much to pale and much too thin, but at least he was clean._

_Edmond pulled the edges of his blue-satin vest down and then straightened his cravat. She always liked him in blue. It was her favorite color. His stomach growled and he considered how much effort it would take to get himself something to eat. He knew that new provisions had been brought a few days ago. He heard the crates being dropped by the pantry door, but didn't care enough to get up and see to his stock. _

_"No time like the present." He muttered to his face, which looked back at him with a baleful eye. "No one else is going to put the goods away for me, now are they?" He snorted and left room, making for the short stairs leading to the ground floor. _

_The kitchen was a mess. Every dish was dirty, the cooking stove was covered with spilt and burnt food, and the cold storage smelled as if a rat crawled inside and died. Guilt of a new form filled the Lampkeeper's heart as he looked at the devastation his drunken stupor had wrought upon his living quarters. Cassandra always kept the kitchen so clean, and he had utterly destroyed that concept. It would take hours to set it to rights again. He sighed and rolled up his sleeves. There was a water pail by the backdoor. He took it out to the pump and filled it up. It was going to be a long morning._

_By midday, Edmond finally finished cleaning up the kitchen and eating area to the point he felt like he could live with it. He sat wearily in one of the chairs by the table and stared into space, thinking about what he and Sandra might be talking about. Once more, he slid into the far reaches of his mind, and it was as if she were sitting with him._

_"I miss you."_

_"I know. I miss you too."_

_"Where did you go? I can't find you when I look."_

_"I'm not really that far away, Darling. All you have to do is think about me and I'm with you."_

_"I know, but I miss touching you, Sandra. I miss holding you, smelling your hair. It hurts not having you here."_

_"I'm sorry, Edmond. I wish it wasn't so."_

_"Why can't I be with you, Dearest? Why do I have to stay here alone?"_

_"It's not time, but soon. I promise... soon."_

_He knew she wasn't real, and he was just making her up in his head, but he couldn't help it. He ached without her. There was another bottle of whiskey behind the bread box. He stood up and found it, then he wandered into the parlor and opened the top drawer of his writing desk. There was a long, cherry wood box which he lifted out and set on top. Inside was his prized revolver. A gift from her . His fingers slid lovingly over the long barrel and he lifted it out, holding it in his hands like it was her heart. Mechanically, absently, he loaded it._

_The climb up the spiral stairs was habitual. He'd made it a hundred times before, and once more meant nothing to him. His feet_ _'thumped' as they stepped from one stair to the next. It was monotonous. He opened the door at the top and entered the lamproom. How many nights since he's lit it, he wondered? Edmond couldn't remember, but the oil smelled old and the wick was black with old carbon and dirt. It needed to be cleaned._

_There was a small cupboard underneath the lamp where he kept his cleaning and lighting supplies. He opened it and extracted what he needed for the job, then he removed the old wick and started cleaning the lamp. It was a mindless job. Something he'd done so many times he could almost do it with his eyes shut. _

_He was wiping the last refracting pane clean when he noticed the revolver and whiskey weren't setting on the floor where he'd left them. Confusion clouded his mind as he laid his cloth next to the lamp and began looking for the items. He was certain he set them next to the cupboard door when he retrieved his supplies, but they were no longer there. __'__Odd,' he thought. __'__Perhaps me mind is gone after all.' He shrugged and turned to put his supplies and tools away, but froze when a deadly whisper drifted into the tight space of the lamproom._

_"Don't ye just look all pretty and cleaned up, Eddy-boy, and __'__ere I thought I'd find you mourning me sweet Cassy like the yellow bastard you are." Sour laughter followed the cruel jibe and the heavy footfalls of a large individual entering the room echoed off the glass. "Aye, I must admit, you're not the mon you were when ye took __'__er from me, that yer not. Why, yer skinny as a stringy rooster, and this here whiskey is something I never thought I'd see you be touching... seeing how bloody sanctimonious ye always was. I never dreamed I be finding you dead drunk in yer cups, School Master."_

_"What do you want, Daniel?" Edmond was fairly certain he knew why Cassandra's husband was there, and a sad sense of relief passed over his tormented soul._

_"What do I want?" Daniel walked up behind the smaller man and leaned close. "I want to send you to Hell, Eddy. I want you to know what it feels like to have your heart torn from your body when the one you love chooses another. I want you to know the pain of losing everything you hold dear to another man's arms... I want you to suffer."_

_"I am, Daniel." Edmond slumped, walked away from the man behind him, then turned to face him with a tragic face. "I did lose everything I hold dear. You took it from me."_

_"I?" Daniel struggled to look innocent. _

_"Aye... you. You killed her, didn't you." It was a flat, emotionless statement._

_"Aye. I killed her. Threw 'er off the catwalk...just there, I did." He pointed out the outside door onto the iron ledge. "It was easy. Just picked her up and heaved her over. She was so light, so small... It took no effort at all."_

_"You bastard," Tears filled Edmond's eyes as the image of his beloved's death formed in his mind. "How could you? How? She was your wife. Whatever else she may have been, she was still your wife."_

_"She was a fucking whore." Daniel yelled, his face turning red. "A whore living in sin with a man not her husband, and she flaunted it in me face."_

_"No she didn't. I know her better than to believe that. She would never do that, not even to you. Sandra didn't have a cruel bone in her body. She was kind and sweet and pure..."_

_"PURE?" Daniel waved Edmond's revolver in his face. "She was carrying your bastard babe in her belly. How can you call her pure?"_

_"My...my baby?" The words choked in his throat and his vision dimmed. She hadn't told him._

_"Aye! She begged me not to touch her because she feared it would hurt the little spawn. Like I would give a rats ass about that."_

_"You-you raped her? You raped my Sandra!"_

_"I raped my WIFE! MY WIFE! MY RIGHT! And then I threw her over the railing and listened to her scream all the way to the bottom... all the way... all the... oh god..."_

_"My Sandra. My beautiful Sandra." Edmond started to cry. "You killed her and my child? You killed them both?" He could feel something breaking inside of him. Something primitive and ferocious. Something violent and ugly, and as it boiled to the surface of his consciousness, he lost control of it. "MURDERER!"_

_The wild, yellow-eyed demon leaped across the lamproom, pouncing on top of Daniel, snarling and clawing at his throat. Hands possessing an incredible strength despite their smallness, closed around his windpipe and began to squeeze, shutting off the flow of oxygen. The pair tumbled to the floor and the demon pinned the larger man on his back, laughing cruelly as his large green eyes bulged in his face._

_"How does it feel, Daniel?" The voice was raspy and harsh. "How does it feel to be the weak and defenseless? Can you hear the sound of your heart beating inside your head? Does the rush of blood roar in your ears? Are you dying, you filthy bastard? Are you ready to meet your maker?" The demon leaned down and pressed his nose against the dying man's. "If so, then let me send you on your way to Hell. The Devil's waiting for you."_

_Fear filled the frantic heart of Daniel March, and a surge of adrenaline rushed through his body. A burst of strength and he threw the demon off of him and rolled to his feet, grabbing the pistol on his way up. The demon stumbled across the room and fell into one of the refracting panes, Daniel took aim and fired. Blood splattered across the glass as it cracked and broke. The demon's head snapped back, his body froze, and then he slipped to the floor._

_Edmond Fetlock was dead. Shot in the back of the head by Daniel March. A matter of self-defense, perhaps, except that it was Daniel's plan to kill Edmond from the beginning._

_Carefully, Daniel arranged the body on the floor, pistol in one hand, bottle of whiskey in the other. Who would know it wasn't suicide? After all, the rumors in town were he'd killed Cassy himself, anyway. He picked up the spent lead from inside the broken refraction pane and dropped it in his pocket. No one suspected a third party. No one knew about him. He was finally finished. It was over. They were all dead._

_Father, Elliot, Ethan, Cassy... and Edmond. There was no one left to mock or degrade him. No one left to stand in his way. He could go back to Sedgmont and resume the Reverendship that was his by right. He could start over. _

_Edmond Fetlock was found several days later after a ship full of coal foundered upon the reef and sank because the lamp in the lighthouse had not been lit. It was five years before the hauntings started._

_No one in Evermore ever knew anything about a Daniel March._

Kaoru was crying as Edmond finished. She knew it was going to be a terrible thing to hear; how he died, but she didn't know it would be like that. Now she understood where the Angel-Wolf came from, and why he had been created, and why he was such an integral part of both Kenshin and Edmond. He was Edmond's anger and grief let loose. The result of all of his emotions seared into one final seething entity of rage and fury. But for Kenshin, he was the shield that protected, the strength that supported, and the will that made him who he was. The fiercest fighting spirit and most honorable man she ever knew. But without Edmond, Kenshin would not be who he was.

"Oh Edmond," she whispered, nuzzling his neck. "I'm so sorry."

"Aye, darlin'. I know. But it's long passed now, and needs to be done and forgotten. It is true, Daniel has much to pay for, but then... so do I."

"Aye, that you do, Master Fetlock. That you do." The tired voice of Reverend March reached them from his bed, and Edmond turned to find the old man's eyes upon him. "You are Edmond Fetlock, aren't you?"

"Aye, Reverend." Edmond moved to the old man's side and knelt beside the bed. "Are ye feeling better, Master March?"

"Aye, but this is certainly a fine mess you've all gotten yourselves into. I can't even begin to say I understand how it is possible, but now that I am looking at you and not young Himura, I can sense as well as see the differences. There really are two of you inside this body, aren't there?"

"Aye, Reverend. As terrible and strange as it sounds. There are."

"And you have seen this strange future where these... ah, children say they are from?"

"Aye, that I have."

"Have you been a ghost...Master Edmond?" The Reverend's eyes bore into the man's face with a ferocity that few could withstand, but Edmond Fetlock was not any man. He stared back.

"No, Reverend. I have not, but I have existed somewhere I cannot explain. It was a world of infinite blackness with no sound or form. I drifted there unable to progress beyond that place. Not until just a day ago when young Kenshin did look upon the face of my Sandra and I rose to the surface of his mind. Then was the first time since the day Daniel took my life that I knew a change in the darkness that surrounded me."

"Were you in Hell, Master Edmond?"

"No, I do not believe so, but I was not in heaven either. Perhaps limbo?"

"Limbo?"

"A place where restless souls who cannot pass beyond go." Aoshi caught the reverend's eyes. "Daniel and Cassandra became lost in the lighthouse. Edmond became lost in time."

"If all of that is true," Reverend March sat up on his bed and looked deep into Aoshi's ice blue eyes. "What happened to Daniel after Master Edmond died? If he came back to Sedgmont, how did his soul end up back in Evermore five years later haunting the lighthouse with Cassandra?"

Suddenly there were many confused faces inside the small bedchamber. Not one of them had the first idea as to how to answer that question.

"There is only one person who would know the answer to that." Kenshin's voice rose out of Edmond's face. "Daniel himself."

"Then, perhaps it is time we asked him, eh?" The Reverend swung his legs off the edge of the bed and stood up. "If it is true that the persona of Hiko Seijuro exists beneath the face of my son, then the memories of the future and Daniel's ghost exist there as well. Would this be a true assumption, Master Himura?"

"Yes, Reverend." Kenshin nodded respectfully and reached out to put a steadying hand on the old man's shoulder. "I understand how difficult this is for you, Master March. Truly I do, but it cannot be helped. I hope you understand that."

"I am beginning to, young master. The more I hear, the more I am convinced. I know Master Fetlock, and I believe I was just speaking to him. Now, it is beyond any doubt that I am speaking to you, though it is the same face and same voice. You are two different individuals–yet the same. I must be forced to reevaluate my beliefs in reincarnation. God help me."

"I don't believe you need reevaluate your beliefs, Reverend." Aoshi further assisted the old man to leave his bed chamber. "I think this is a very special and isolated instance. No need to worry, good sir."

"Thank you, Master Shino... Shin..."

"Shinomori." Aoshi smiled, and helped the Reverend down the stairs. "Please, just called me Aoshi. It is much easier to say."

"Aye, Master Aoshi. That it is."

"Where are we going?" Soujiro thumped down the stairs behind everyone as they filed back into the chapel. His wide, blue-gray eyes seeking out those of his brother. "You don't intend to go look for Daniel NOW, do you? I mean, not right now?"

"Why not?" Kenshin's voice resonated with the tones of duality. "There is no time like the present, and no need to waste the time we've been given."

"Great. I knew you were going to say something like that."

**TBC**

_My Cat has, once more, taken a turn for the worse. I belive I have reached the end of mine and her limit of endurance. Again she staggers through my house, but now only a few inches or feet at a time. She can no longer lay down in comfort or eat. She only wants water and to be left alone. She will not let anyone hold her and she is wasting away before my eyes. My heart is breaking and I must find the strength to ease her suffering instead of being selfish. It is so hard. My soul cries._

**Review Responses:**

**blue unknown:** You're welcome. I hope it was worth the wait. God Bless.

**Catti-dono:** Arigato, koishii. I am in hopes you enjoyed the new chapter as well. Once more my kitty has taken a turn for the worse. Grief restricts the creative flow. Gomen nasai.

**De Lazy Lime:** Hai, I am going to save Hiko. So many arguments in the beginning and one rousing flame that I was turning such a loveable and beloved character into such a bad guy. No one ever thought to believe something could change in the end. I wish I could find the girl who chewed me up for making him bad and smack her.

**SteelPhoenix:** Hai... a massive amount of foreshadowing. It was meant to be so. As for the memories... the world would change 'around' them but not necessarily 'change' them. They will remember everything, but perhaps end up in a different place because of differences in circumstances. Try to remember the 'Back to The Future' movies. Remember when Marty went to his house in the second movie, but it wasn't 'his' house anymore because circumstances had changed 'around' him.

**Lynn-Minmay:** I know I spelled Hiko's last name wrong. It hit me a while after I posted the chapter. I knew someone would see it. It just goes to show that my mind is not on my writing. I am glad that you enjoyed the chapter, koishii. God Bless you, sweet one.

**Tameka-tanuki-jouchan:** Much love to you, little racoon girl. I love to see you.

**Lolo popoki:** Thank you for your kind words. My writing is far below my own standards so what you said means a great deal. bows Saitou is one of my favorite characters to tweak with. He shows many sides of himself in the OVA and I just like to expound upon it in my own way. Arigato, my friend.

**Whitehaizea:** Hai, windchild. I am still alive. Thank you for caring. God Bless, dear one.

**Rain Angst:** God Bless, sweetling. I think I am going to take up residence in the cabin for a bit. Need to hide and take some time to mourn. My kitty is sick again and I think I am going to have to put her to sleep soon. My creative pool is quite dry, but I am pleased you enjoyed the chapter and relieved at least one person wasn't confused by the time paradox.

**Unknown beedee:** I hope this chapter was worth the wait and at least almost interesting. I am still waiting to see something more from you. When are you going to write regularly again?

**Kireitenshi00:** You don't sound corny. I thank you for your support. My 'furry friend' is very sick again today and I fear I may have to put her to sleep soon. Thank you for your kind words about this story. It has been with me for such a long now, it's almost a part of my life. God Bless. I hope you enjoy the ending.

**Immortal Blood:** Thank you, dear one. That means much to me. God bless always.

**RkfaN930:** My kitty is sick again... it's so hard. Thank you for your sweet words and support. It means so much. I'm so glad your still here. I hope this chapter was worth checking for. God bless, dear friend.

**XiaXue:** Glad you liked the update. You know this is almost over... sigh

**ixchen:** And I thank you for the time you take to read and leave me your thoughts. Arigato, dear friend. We have been doing this a long time. bows You are humbly appreciated.

**Kean:** God Bless, dearest friend. Thank you for being here for such a long time. You have long been my voice of honesty and reason. Hai, I misspelled Hiko's name. It just goes to prove that my mind is not on my work. I hope this chapter is better. Pray tell, dear one, what will you read of mine when this is finished? I will miss you if you disappear.

**Luraia Soul:** God Bless, Luraia... It is so nice to see you. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, sweetling. Hope this one was enjoyable as well. We are nearly to the end. It has been nice to have you here for the whole ride.

**Lendra-chan:** Dearest Alendra. I have not made it over to read your updates, but I will this week. So, please, do not apologize to me for being late. I am far behind on you. Gomen nasai, sweetling. As for Kenshin being in purgatory... That put a smile on my face. Thank you for that. God Bless, my shining light.

**LegolasEstelstar:** Sweet Estel, God bless you and your sweet words. My kitty is sick again. My heart it heavy and I am in such a sad place right now. My creative pool is dry and I'm feeling so lost. I had a seizure over the weekend and I just feel like everything is falling apart. Having friends like you is so comforting. Arigato.

**Pixel-the-evil-fairy:** Real dad's are an interesting. I am glad that you enjoyed it. I hope this one was as well. God bless, Fern-Gulley-Girl.

**Paisita:** Gomen for no review responses last chapter. I just didn't have the heart or the where with all to do them. I promised them this time, and you are one I can never forget. God Bless you always, dearest friend. You are among those I love the most. I hope your cousin had a good time.

**Steph:** Thank you, Stephy. I am so happy you loved the last chapter. The interaction between Kenshin and Edmond was the bright spot in the chapter for me. It was the one part I enjoyed writing. Having them both dead at the same time was an interesting idea... I just had to run with it. God bless... glad things with your horse are good, and thank you for your concern about me.

**Psychotic-catster:** Ohayo, wild child. Yes, my kitty has taken another turn for the worse, and my health is taking a bit of a beating... but all will work as it is supposed to. Now then, thank for going insane for me... it made my day. God bless, you wild thing. I love you.

**BelleDayNight:** Hai, Belle, Aoshi is always adorable, but I have made him a very 'attentive' son here at the end. Something no one has seen from him before. I have enjoyed. My kitty is sick again, and I think I have reached the end of my vigil. Her kidney failure, I believe, has escalated to a point now that she is in pain and wanting fluids constantly. I think I need to take her to the Vet and let her go... but it's so hard. God help me.

**Lere and JD:** I have missed you this time. But I know you are both still there; as are the others who have not yet read or reviewed. You are all missed but remembered and loved. God Bless, Minna-san.


	29. The Beginning of The End

_This is going to be a disjointed/fragmented chapter. Everyone is doing something and there are so many things going on at once, its the only way to show the near chaos of the situation as well as the desperation. So... if it feels jumpy, its supposed to. Enjoy. KnT_

_Chapter Twenty-nine_

_Beginning of The End_

Sedgmont, New York

Early Spring, 1818

Daniel sat astride his horse, rocking with the motion of the beasts slow, rhythmic gaits. There was much on his mind, the least of which was not his lovely fiancée. The image of her pale, alabaster skin was becoming something that haunted his thoughts. He was beginning to look upon her with more than just mild interest. She was starting to represent more to him than just a means to an end.

Two days passed since his father sent him looking for Elliot in the meadow, and in that time, he had seen a change in his betrothed. She was at once more lively and less attentive than usual and the combination was confusing as well alluring. She treated him with a distance that baffled him, and although her level of respect for him seemed to be intact, there was something beneath her facade that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Her smiles were hesitant and she refused to meet his eyes for more than the briefest of seconds. She was holding something back. Something elusive... something... important.

_'It is almost as if she were someone else,'_ he thought, shifting in the saddle._ 'She seems uneasy around me, like she knows something and is keeping it a secret.' _His gaze narrowed and he spurred his horse into a quick canter. _'What kind of secrets can a girl like her know? What does she think she knows?'_ Daniel felt uneasy. Something foreign slithered beneath his flesh, trying to crawl to the surface, but he quickly shoved it back down. He wasn't in the mood for old memories or new intrusions. He had more important things to do.

_'The wedding, its only four days away. I need to make plans.' _

"He makes me nervous, Kenshin. The way he looks at me. It gives me the creeps." Kaoru sa't fidgeting with the hem on her skirt. "I feel...naked, you know?"

"It wont be for much longer, honey. I promise." He crossed his front room and sat down across from her. They had opted to observe the strict code of moral conduct while in this time period. They were getting way too many stares with their other behaviors. So, Kaoru never went anywhere without her brother', and Kenshin never entertained her unless there was a legitimate reason to have her in his' house. Today she and Soujiro were delivering bread to the handsome School Master and he'd invited them to stay for some tea. "Do you know if Aoshi has found anything out yet? You see him more often than I do at this point. I can't believe I'm stuck trying to teach all those little mongrels." He sighed and looked at his hands. "Good thing Eddy pops out and gives me a hand or else Id really be in the shit."

"Just call it Father-in-training' experience, big brother." Soujiro laughed and winked at the scowling red-head. "You ought to be an expert in patience by the time you and Kao have any kids."

'Shut-up, pretty boy," was the growling response. "I already learned patience having to deal with you 24/7 for six years. This should qualify me for a Ph.D."

"Testy, aren't we?"

"You could say that." Glittering amber tinged violet crystals bore into laughing blue-gray eyes. "Now, if you don't mind, let's get back on track. Were running out of time and we dont have a decent plan yet."

"I still think nothing is going to happen until after the wedding." Soujiro said, biting his thumbnail. "The Reverend doesn't die until then, and Elliot and I aren't slated to die until well after either. I just don't think you're going to get anywhere until the actual event is passed."

"Oh God," Kaoru wailed. "Are you saying I have to go through with marrying that deranged ape? You have to be kidding."

"Nope, not kidding. Think about it." He said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "It makes perfect, logical sense. Daniel doesn't actually start down the path of his eventual spiritual destruction until he commits the murder. We have to wait until that happens."

"No," Kenshin stood and shoved his hands into the waistband of his trousers. "We came to stop the murder of the Reverend, not let it happen so we can reach Hiko through the guilt of Daniel's sin. We can't let that happen."

"I'm not saying we have to. I'm just saying we need to catch him in the act and stop him before it occurs. But he has to have the full intent in his heart before we can reach that part of him that's…" His voice trailed off and he dropped his head.

"The part of him that's your father?" Kaoru stood and moved to Soujiro's side, kneeling down next to him. "I understand how hard this is, Sou. I'm sorry."

"No, Kao. I don't think anyone understands how hard this is. Not really... Not even you, Kenshin." He looked up and met his brothers surprised gaze. "He never was your father... you never accepted him and he never accepted you. But he's been my real father my whole life. As I am in the future, I carry his blood, his genes, I am his DNA and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it." His voice cracked and he looked away. "That murdering bastard is the soul that created the monster that gave me life. How do you think I feel about that?"

"I don't know, Sou." Kenshin suddenly felt ashamed and uncomfortable. "He also gave Cleo life, Sou, and she's not the least bit evil or tainted. Neither are you. It's not just blood and DNA, man. It's a whole lot of other things that make up a person. He may have been the sperm donor that sparked your existence, but he didn't give you life or make you who you are. God and Mom did that."

"You think so?"

"Yes. Otherwise, we'd have hated each other, don't you think?"

Soujiro laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Hadn't thought about it like that."

"I guess it's time you did." Kenshin turned as the door to the parlor opened and his maid, Mrs. Connely came in bringing a fresh pot of tea. He thanked her and she left. Ever since this whole thing began, she'd been hovering over him like some kind of a mother hen, and he was starting to get irritated. "Thank-you, Mrs. Connely. That will be all."

"Are ye sure, Master Ed...?"

"Aye. That is all. Thank you." He knew she still thought he was going nuts, but he just didn't have time for her. Sighing with obvious relief at her departure, he shut the door behind her. He glared at the two smiling faces that greeted him and chose not to say anything. Instead he just stepped back into the conversation they were having before the old woman arrived.

"Soujiro, I need to you talk to Aoshi the next time you see him. The two of you need to talk to the Reverend. There has to be something we can do to prevent what happens. Remember, Eddy said the Reverend was thrown from his horse into the river. It has to be off the old _Binker's Bridge. _It's the only bridge around here for miles."

"That's true, but why would he be out that part of town? There aren't any houses out there?" Soujiro scratched his head. "Even the Reverend doesn't know why he'd be there."

"There has to be a reason and we have to find it. You tell Aoshi he needs to shadow Daniel as close as he dares, but not too close. I dont want him getting hurt. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Soujiro looked at Kaoru's worried face and his features softened as something floated to the surface. "I'm sorry, Sandy." He said in a low voice. "I wish there was another way."

"It's alright, Ethan. I think I understand now, but we have to be very careful. Daniel is so dangerous. More so now that Hiko is with him."

"Aye, isn't that the truth."

_3 hours later..._

"Why are ye lurking in the shadows, brother? Do ya really think I can't see you or know yer' back there?" Daniel sat on a stool in the barn, one of his booted feet resting across a low stall post. He'd been combing his horse and stopped to take a rest. "You must think me a great fool if you believe either of those things."

"I have never taken you for a fool...Daniel." The tall lithe figure of Elliot March slithered from the shadows near the barn door. "However, I don't believe you to be an honest or honorable man either."

Daniel laughed, a low cruel sound that oozed over his lips like a dogs saliva. "And you think that surprises me? Comin' from your pious mouth, Elliot, I would expect no less." His green eyes glittered in the lamplight. Dusk was approaching and the sun was setting in the east. "You'd make a fine Reverend, that you would, with all yer' airs and holier-than-thou words. It's a shame you weren't first born."

"Aye, that it is. It makes one wonder, what was God thinking about when he sent your soul to Earth before mine, doesn't it?"

"Be careful where you step, brother o' mine." Daniel's voice hissed and slithered through the chilled air. "There be snakes and all manner of evil spirits lurking in the depths of hell. Tread softly lest you tumble over the cliff and fall in." The threat was veiled, but unmistakable none the less. Glinting green emeralds clashed with the hard, unrelenting waves of a stormy, aqua-colored sea and the brothers faced one another silently, unmoving.

Aoshi flexed uncomfortably beneath the cold exterior of his alter ego's iron will. Elliot March was no light weight, and he understood exactly what needed to be done. Letting him take over control of their respective body had been easier than Aoshi thought it would be, but watching the events unfold from his spectator's point of view was excruciatingly frustrating. _'Get away from him, Elliot. He's dangerous, more than you know.'_

Elliot offered his brother a cold smirk as he straightened his black coat. "Interesting Daniel, how you would know so well what Hell looks like. But, then again, perhaps it is not so interesting after all." With that parting comment, Elliot turned and disappeared into the fading light, leaving Daniel to brood over his words.

Aoshi breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the cool persona slip back into the passive seat, letting him once more take control. The sense of playing with fire and cobras tickled his nerve endings and he wondered just how mild mannered this colonial alter-self really was. For all the descriptions the Reverend and Cassandra had relayed of a gentle natured man with a soft spoken personality, Aoshi has a feeling Elliot was not very much different from himself. Logical, calculating, and too smart for his own good, only he'd found a way to live with it and be happy. Suddenly he doubted that Elliot's love for Cassandra was as 'brotherly' as she thought it was.

'_Oh Elliot,'_ He thought sadly as he approached the back door of the Parish living quarters._ 'You loved her that much and never told her? Is that why you were so willing to die for her and Edmond? Because he made her happy?'_ A cold shiver of awareness rippled through his vitals and then squeezed his heart painfully. In letting Elliot confront Daniel knowing the truth of why Aoshi and the others were in Sedgmont, Aoshi had inadvertently uncovered another piece of the puzzle.

_'Se wasn't meant for us, my friend.'_ Aoshi's eyes turned toward the moon and the image of elfin face with large blue-green eyes drifted through his mind. _'There is another... Another.'_

'_Another?' _

_'Yes, trust me. You will not be alone after she leaves. There will come another who will knock you off your ass.'_

'_Is that a good thing, Aoshi?'_

'_Yes, Elliot. That is a good thing. Trust me. It was for me.'_

'_Hmmm…'_

Aoshi could feel Elliot considering that piece of information so he took the opportunity to enter the door. The Reverend was seated at the table drinking tea. He looked up when he heard the door.

"Greetings, Master Aoshi. Tea?"

"Yes, thank-you." He replied shedding his coat and hanging it on a hook beside the door. Then he moved to the sink to wash his hands.

"Where have you been?"

"In the barn... talking to Daniel." He waited and heard the pause behind him.

"What were you talking about? I didn't think any of you were prepared to approach him yet."

"It wasn't intentional. I was . . . watching him and he discovered me. I was drawn into the conversation." He turned and dried his hands on a towel. "We discussed the fact that it was strange God would send a dishonorable soul as your firstborn when your second son would make a much better heir for your responsibilities."

"He instigated the conversation, Reverend, not I. And it was he who pointed out the fact, although I do not believe he was expecting me to agree with him."

"Surprised him, did you?"

"No, not entirely. It appeared to strike a cord in him."

"A cord?"

"Indeed." Aoshi approached the table slowly, thoughtfully. "He threatened me."

"Threatened you?" The Reverend was aghast, setting the tea pot aside. "What sort of threat?"

"He insinuated that if I didn't watch my step, I may end up slipping and falling off the cliff into the depths of hell."

"And what did you say to that?"

"Only that is was interesting he should have such detailed information on what hell looked like, and then I hinted perhaps it was not such a strange thing after all. That did not appear to set well with him." Of course, Aoshi deliberately failed to mention that the conversation was none of his doing what so ever. The Reverend didn't need to know that.

"Ye shouldn't be doing that, Master Aoshi. If my son is as dangerous as all of you are telling me, then you shouldn't be baiting his wrath this way. You have no idea what he's capable of."

"I beg to differ, sir." Aoshi seated himself at the small kitchen table next to the Reverend who was pouring them both a cup of tea. "I believe Kenshin and Soujiro have discovered one of the key elements in breaking this vicious cycle. Unfortunately, someone is going to have to stay very close to you to make certain your son does not make good on his plans for your demise."

"Hmm," the Reverend took a sip and then looked at the man next to him. If not for the eyes and a certain look about the face, he would never know, this was not his son. "You may be right, yes, but have you and your companions considered that perhaps I am meant to die on that bridge?"

"No." Aoshi's voice was firm, almost sharp. "It is not meant to be. Not one of us has any doubt about that. It is the first sin that takes Daniel down the path to the destruction of his soul and the murder of everyone in his family, Cassandras brother, and Edmond Fetlock. We cannot allow him to harm one hair of your head. Not one."

"I see. Well, if all of your feelings are this strong, who am I to say this is not the right thing to do?" He turned and considered the liquid in his cup. "We will all be together for the confrontation, yes?"

"Yes. All of us." Aoshi suddenly found his own cup very interesting. "After the wedding, either Soujiro or myself will be with you or near you at all times. When the reasons for you to be on that bridge presents itself, we will alert the others and all of us will shadow your ride there. You will not be alone, Reverend. We will not let you die."

"Praise the Lord for Avenging Angels. May the might of their swords protect us all."

"Amen, Father." Elliot March stole a look at his father from inside Aoshis mind. _'We will not fail you, Father. I won't let this happen again. I swear on the blood of our Lord, I won't.'_

Daniel was getting nervous. It seemed everywhere he went he was seeing either his brother or Cassandra's brother. He almost felt like they were watching him; like they knew something, but they couldn't know anything. No one knew anything. He was safe. Safe as a baby in its mother's arms. The wedding was tomorrow, and then he would be able to start putting his plan into motion. Already he had begun the preliminary work. At the courthouse he was going over land surveys, looking for property lines and available acreage. He was going to approach the old man about building a house of his own, it was just a matter of where, and he thought he had the perfect spot.

An old abandoned farm on the far outskirts of town. It was once owned by a farmer named 'Binker', but when he fell into arrears on his taxes, the town took it away from him and he'd moved away. No one had bought it since and it lay vacant for nearly ten years. All Daniel had to do was pay the back taxes and it would be his. It was the perfect place for an accident. The woods were overgrown, the property in bad condition. Even the old bridge leading over the river to the property was in dire need of repairs. Anything could happen in a precarious place such as that.

He just needed to decide what kind of accident best suited his needs.

Kaoru had argued with the woman who was her mother all morning. If it wasn't about her dress, then it was about her hair. The woman just couldn't seem to get it through her head that Kaoru didn't need her help to get ready, but first thing that morning, she'd barged into her room, yanked her out of a sound sleep, stripped her naked, and scrubbed her skin raw.

"It's your wedding day, Cassandra. Don't you want to be the perfect bride?" Lydia had never seen her daughter act like this a day in her life and it worried her. "I'm just trying to help you, dear…"

"I can do it myself, Mother. Really I can." Her voice was hard as granite and she closed the door on her mother's stricken face. "If I find something I can't handle, I'll call you."

"Cassandra . . . Please?"

"I said I was fine."

Lydia finally gave up and went downstairs where she found her husband sitting in front of the fire brooding. He'd obviously heard every word of his wife and daughter's exchange. Confusion, worry, and anger took turns wrinkling the lines on his face.

"What should I do, Nathanial? I've never seen her like this?"

"I wish I could answer that, dear, but I can't." His dark hazel eyes stared into the dancing flames as he tried to find a rational answer inside himself for his daughter's behavior. "But truth be told, Lydia, neither Cassandra nor Ethan have been the same since the day they were struck ill."

"What are you saying?" Lydias dark blue eyes widened with frightened concern and she took the chair beside her husband. "You don't think... their possessed, do you?" It was a terrible thought, but every good Christian knew that some of the first signs of demon possession were changes in a loved ones personality.

"Again, I don't know the answer to that, Lydia, but something strange is afoot here. The two of them spend an inordinate amount of time with the School Master. I was not even aware the three of them were associated. Were you?"

"Nay, I was not."

"People are starting to talk, Lydia. They are calling Cassandra an inconstant woman even before she's taken her vows with Master March, and they are looking to us for the cause of her unchristian like behaviors." Nathanial sounded worried and angry. "I am not sure if this will affect our business and spiritual standing in the community or not. We can only pray it does not."

"God have mercy on us." Lydia began to cry, wringing her ever-present white handkerchief in anxiety. "What will we do?"

"See her married and safely under the control of her new husband as every good wife should be."

"Aye, that is the best thing." Her watery blue eyes rose to the ceiling where her daughter struggled to dress in the strange gown with all of its hooks and ribbons, and Lydia prayed God would heal whatever was afflicting her children before it was too late for them all.

Several hours later Kaoru, Kenshin, Soujiro, and Aoshi stood quietly inside the Reverend's office just outside of the chapel. Kaoru was a mass of nerves and so close to tears and vomiting Kenshin was worried she wasn't going to be able to go through with the ceremony. Aoshi was getting nervous that Daniel was going to come looking for him and find the three men inside the rectory with her. No telling what he would do then, but they couldn't leave her like this.

Fortunately the Reverend saved them. He appeared at the doorway, his green eyes gentle and full of understanding. "You three need to leave. Master Aoshi you need to take Elliot's place beside his brother as witness, and Master Seta, you need to stand with young Ethan's mother. She is going to need your support. It is always hard to let a daughter go."

"Yes, sir." The duel reply was given in low voices as the two young men left the small room.

"Master Himura, there is no logical reason for Master Fetlock to be in this room at all. If you are found here by anyone, we will have no explanation what so ever. You must leave through the side entrance and come in through the front doors as if you just arrived."

"I understand," Kenshin nodded and then looked long and deep into Kaorus eyes. "You just remember one thing, Kao," he said as he pressed his forehead against hers. "I love you more than anything else in this world or anyone in the future. And no matter what happens between you and Daniel here, nothing will ever change how I feel about you. You will always be the light of my soul and the heart that beat my blood... Always."

"Kenshin," her voice quavered on the edge of tears and she cupped his face in her hands. "Forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive, honey. This isn't your fault. It never was."

"May I interrupt?" The Reverend's gentle voice drew the lover's attention away from each other as he approached and laid a hand on each of their shoulders. "Perhaps it is not so in your time, but in ours, it is customary for a man of God and his new bride to be married for a full month before they copulate. Have no fear. Daniel will not touch you."

"I hope you're right, Reverend." Kenshins voice was raspy with emotion. "I have a feeling Daniel never was very careful or tender in his marital rights as a husband. I don't much care for the idea of him touching the woman _I _love any more than Eddy did him touching Cassandra."

"Of course, forgive me." The Reverend was still having difficulties associating his eldest son with the monster these young people described him to be, but the simple fact that they were here told him it had to be true. "I will do all I can to make sure he doesn't hurt her."

"Thank-you." Kenshin nodded, and then brushed his hand down the smooth cheek of his beloved. "If he does hurt her, Master March . . . I promise you, once we are finished with saving you, I will kill him regardless of what it costs me or Edmond."

"But that will defeat the purpose of saving _his _soul, Master Himura. Is that not the ultimate goal?"

"Aye, it is, but I can still kill him afterward." Amber orbs locked and held the surprised gaze of the reverend. "Vengeance belongs to the Angels," he said. "And though I harbor Edmond's demon wolf, there is something else inside of me that answers to higher purpose."

"Hmm," The Reverend gazed thoughtfully into the fierce yet beautiful face. "I suppose even Arch Angels can fall in love."

Kaoru just knew she was going to throw up on Daniel the moment she took his hand to stand in front of the Reverend. Bile burned the back of her throat and swallowing just seemed to make it worse. In a desperate attempt to calm herself, she tried to concentrate on Kenshin's face in her mind. It helped a little, but she was still scared to death.

It was all like a bad dream. She could hear the Reverends rich baritone voice speaking the words that made her/Cassandra Daniel's wife. It was the worst nightmare she could imagine and there was nothing she could do about it. Her mouth worked of its own accord, saying the vows and promising to love, honor, and obey until death parted them. She was numb and she could feel Cassandra cringing and shuddering inside of her skin and she wanted to cry for both of them, but she just kept thinking about Kenshin. He and Edmond wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. She had to believe that. If she didn't, she knew she would panic and the whole situation would fall to pieces.

'_Help me, Cass,'_ she whimpered inside her heart._ 'Im so scared.'_

'_I know, Kaoru. I'm scared too, but the Reverend was right. Daniel didn't start demanding his marital rights until after his father' death. He didn't wait the full month, but he did wait until we buried that poor man.'_

"_Thank God. I don't think I could have stood being touched by him. How did you?'_

'_I didn't . . . it almost drove me out of my mind. Only my security of Elliot and my love for Edmond saved me. If I hadn't had them, I would have never survived.' _Her tone turned comforting. _'Hang onto Kenshin, Kaoru. He will never desert you.'_

'_I know, but what if . . . what if something happens and he's too far away to help me?'_

_'He'll never be too far away. Never. He won't allow it.'_

"...and now, before this gathered company, and in the eyes of the Almighty God, I pronounce you Man and Wife. You may kiss your Bride."

Kaoru was jolted back to reality as she was turned to face her new husband. Daniel's emerald green eyes glittered lustfully into her wide, frightened sapphires and a smirk curled his handsome mouth. She could see what he was thinking and again felt the threat of vomiting rise in the back of her throat. His rough hands rose and cupped her face almost tenderly and then he bent down to her and chastely brushed his lips across hers. She shuddered and felt icy horror flood her veins.

'_It's started,'_ She thought._ 'It's really started. God help me . . . help all of us."_

TBC

To everyone who came forward and offered me sympathy and support over the illness of my cat… I had to put her sleep. On 4/26/05 she left me and went to heaven. The days since have been very trying and I miss her more than I can say. I have, however, finally gone and gotten myself a new cat. He's a 4 year old boehemoth. He's a gray tabby… called a 'maine coon'. He stands almost 3ft tall toes to toes and weighs in around 23lb or more. He's big purr-baby and loves to just 'plop' and cuddle. He's a life-saver to me… His name is 'Bob'. No, I didn't give it to him, he had it already, but he's so big, the boys often call him 'Bob-zilla'.

Again, thank you for all the kindness and caring.

God bless you all.

Tsuki-san

**Luraia Soul**:God bless to a sweet and special friend who has been here since the beginning. May I bow and offer a humble Arigato to your words of praise and support. You are long remembered and well loved, my shin-yuu. I hope this story will not be the last of us.

**Lere:** My beautiful, brazilian touchstone. How my heart weeps and cries with happiness whenever I see you. Your beautiful face looks at me from a special place beside my computer where I see you everyday. You are faraway but never far from my heart or thoughts. Thank you for your prayers, and may God be with you and yours always. I may not write often, but you are with me always.

**Lolo Popoki:** Hai, things are rising for the climax...and it has been an emotional ride in more ways than you can imagine. Thank you for coming with me. I am pleased and humbled that you enjoyed it enough to stay for the long haul. Thank you for your concern and support. It is so appreciated. I am starting to feel much better. :) God bless.

**Lendra-Chan:** My sweet Alendra. 3 3 Your stories have kept my days from fading into dullness and my heart from washing into darkness. You make me laugh and cheer because you have come so far and youre getting so good. I have grown to love you so dearly as a friend and a _deshi-san_. You will be in my heart forever, young one. Thank you for being with me and letting me help you. I hope this old _sensei _had something of value to teach you. God bless, koishii.

**Rain Angst:** My sweetest, dear friend. Without you and your cabin there are so many days I would have been lost. So many times I ducked my head into the mists, trudged up the hill, and disappeared into that beloved retreat we conjured up. I often fancied us sharing our hot chocolate and marshmellows in front of a roaring fire while trading mushy Kenshin stories. Thank you, dear one. You mean the world to me. God Bless... I love you dearly.

**Paisita:** My Beautiful, sweet friend. I remember reading your first reviews when you were constantly apologizing for your english. You were so endearing and so honest. I loved you from the very beginning. You have gone out of your way to write me personal letters...I have saved every one of them. Each one came at a time when I truly needed an emotional boost, and you gave it to me, whether you realize it or not. You have helped so much. God bless your caring heart and may your life be filled with the roses of love and good fortune. Mi Amor.

**Kaoru4:** I hope to write more fanfics...Im just waiting for lightening to strike and bring me an idea. Thank you for reading and being there for Bad Kid with me. I have enjoyed you so much. Youve always had something interesting to say, and Ive looked forward to it. :) I have greatly appreciated your support through the difficult times. Sometimes writers are emotional, unstable people... but we try not to be. Friends and family are important to us. Thank you for being a part of both of those things. God bless, shin-yuu.

**Sephiress:** My beloved, Dana. Why should I forgive you for something I am worse at than you are? There is nothing to forgive, Saiai-koishii. You know how much I love you and that I am always here for you, and I know if I need you, you are there for me. In fact, since you wrote this review, we have talked. I think we are both better now. :) I saw something somewhere (dont remember whereBduh) that you cut your hair. How short? I loved your hair! You were so beautiful...ah, well, you will always be beautiful. I hope to see you again soon. Much love to you always, koishii. By the way... I look up to you too...and not just because youre taller than me either. You are a wonderful person with a strong soul, and a damn good author in your own right.

**OneBlackTear:** Thank you, about my kitty. :( It was horrible. I am getting better. I have gotten me another kitty. His name is Bob. He is a Maine-coon. Hes huge...literally. About 30 pounds... and hes not fat. God bless... thank you for your support... and for being with me through Bad Kid. Everyone whose been here for this story is part of my internet family. So, if youre here, youre my kid. Luv ya.

**Ice Angel Kaoru:** God Bless you. :) Everything you said really hit home for me. Ive sat and read and re-read your review at least 20-25 times because it was so true and it had so many little pearls of wisdom in it. Thank you a hundred times over. Usually flames dont bother me... I think the last two months has just been so overwhelming that my skin has gotten thin and I just wasnt up to it. It seems like everything is/has been getting to me. Like nothing was going right and everyone was on my back about something and everything was going wrong. The flames was just one more thing that I couldnt deal with.

Yes, I have gotten hit with the creative bug in the shower. :) Actually, been hit with it in stranger places than that... Im still waiting at the moment. LOL Hopefully I wont have to wait very long.

I did get me a new kitty. Hes a 4 year old Maine-coon that weighs in at 30 pounds. Hes just a big loveable baby. Just what I needed. Oh, and BTW... thanks for the Butterfly thing... it made me laugh. :D

**Reingnashii:** A while or not... it is nice to see you again. God Bless, and thank you for all your support through out this story. It is, and always has been, humbly appreciated. :)

**Aine of Knockaine:** A broken hip? After getting run over in the driveway? that is way more than just the luck of 9 lives. That proves there is a Kitty-Kami. God bless your old kittys heart. 23 years old? I thought 19 was pushing the envelope... WoW! Holy Buckets! We are all lucky to have them stay with us for such a long time. I treasured my old kitty...I miss her so much. But I did finally go out and get me a new kitty. Hes a 30 pound Maine-coon. Large breed... His name is Bob (no, I didnt give it to him...but were still laughing about it.), and hes 4 years old. Hes a big baby that loves nothing more than to sprawl out all over your lap, stomach, chest...whatever part of you is available. And he purrs like a bulldozer. I love him already. Hes just what I needed. He loves to snuggle. Decrease in the stress factor.

Looks like I need to check out E-bay for RK series. Seriously. O.O

God bless, sweet friend. Im so glad you stayed with me. I hope I can keep you around. Ive grown quite attached.

**Unknown Beedee:** Im not going to give up on writing, honey... but what about you? I havent see you write anything for ages. Or are you writing somewhere else? Im worried about you. I liked your writing...you had enormous potential. I know, Im just an old lady, and I wash back and forth on my own writing because of personal life issues... but youre young. Dont be like me. Write... I miss seeing you... God bless, young one. I have never forgotten who you were. I always remember you basing your assassin story on bad kid. I wished you had completed it the way you wanted.

**Beowulf31486-**Thank-you, dear friend. Your kind words in this time of struggle for me mean the world. I am so happy that you've stuck it out with me to the end of this fic. I hope to see you in other places I write. I've grown accustomed to your 'face'. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

**Kean-**Dearest Kean… one of my steady-stones. I was almost moved to tears when I read your review. Thank-you so much… the fact that you care about me as a person as well as an author makes me feel special in a way. I have always relied on your honest opinions to help me over the rough edges. God Bless, dear friend. May we continue to travel together.

**Psychotic Catster-**My favorite wild child. J. Yes, my kitty is in a better place. Thank-you for your concern and support. As for Kenshin's 'wolf' personality, I like him very much myself. Sort of the hard-core guy with a really big heart… but still just a little scarey. If and when I ever publish, I'll let you guys know on my homepage. God bless, sweetling… you are right, chocolate can cure just about anything

**LegolasEstelStar-**Precious friend… you are that to me. Thank-you for everything you said. It meant so much. I hope you had fun at Grandma's. As for me, I'm getting back to normal (whatever normal is). I'll be starting to write again soon, I hope. There is so much I want to do… I even have a new idea for another fan fiction. God bless, dear one. I hope you and I travel together for a long time.

**ImmortalBlood-** Still loving your name. J It's been a pleasure to have you among my fans/reviewers. You often don't say much, but what you do say is important to me. I have a new kitty now… he's making my life much easier. Thank you for caring.

**Lynn-Minmay-**Thank you for being there for me and with me. I've come to look for your name in my reviews and it always makes me happy to see it. My Novel, if it ever gets published, is called 'The Dragon God'. It is my ode to fantasy literature and has been inspired by many things…including my experience here on fan fiction. If it ever goes to public, I'll let you know. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know… I hate seeing the story come to an end too.

**RkfaN930-**I'm fairly certain I will keep writing fan fiction. It is my first love after all, and I have so many wonderful, precious friends here now… I wouldn't know what to do without you guys either. God bless, dear one.

**En route-** It is always nice to know that someone is waiting if I need them. God bless you and thank you for everything you've done for me. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Take care. Perhaps one day I can return all the kindness you've showed me.

**Pixel the evil Fairy-** My Fern Gulley Girl. You will be that forever. I'm so glad we had the chance to meet and exchange teases and jibes. You've been so much fun to have around. Thanks for everything and thanks for not being offended when I nick-named you. J I'll never forget who you are, and I'll always be looking for you in my reviews.

**JD Fielding-**My beloved Ototosan. I have been thinking about you so much lately. I put you and Jen's pictures on my screen saver (the album pics) and so I see your face frequently. The last we talked you were starting to get better from your wound infection… I hope that is completely healed now. God bless you for being there for me. You know how much I love you, but do you know how much you really mean to me? A lot. I have had dreams of meeting you in person… wouldn't that be wild? J

I can't believe the story is almost over. It's been two years of my life writing it almost, and you've been there the entire time…plus long before. You are always in my thoughts… every day. Take care, sweetling. Hug Jen for me. Your neesan… Tsuki

**Steph**-Here's hoping your horses back has mended. Slipped vertebrae on such a big animal? Poor guy, that must have been so painful. Anyway… thank you, sweetheart. You've been such a good friend and a great fan all this time. I am so happy I got the chance to know you. I hope we have the chance to stay together … granted I write something worth reading again. J God Bless and much love.

**XiaXue-** God bless, sweetie. I knew what you meant. No apologies needed. It's been a blast having you around. I hope you stay… for a long, long time.

**Erica6060-**Did you enjoy this chapter? It's getting so close to the end that I'm almost afraid I've forgotten to do something.

**BelleDayNight-**Here's hoping this finds you in a better state of mind than when we last chatted. I have had you on my mind for days and days… We've come a long way, you and I, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. You are one of my dearest friends and I respect your talent and ambition to the deepest part of my soul. God Bless, sweetling… talk soon?

**Catti-dono**-Aishiteru, Saiai Catti. Where have you gone? I apologize for not getting to your new chapters. I promise I will this week. I promise… Write soon. Please?

**Chibi-sick**- Thanks for the stuffed animal and the twizzlers. I love both. J

**Desanera-**I blush in the aftermath of your praises. Offer a humble 'thank-you' and hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks you for caring. God bless…

**Royal bluekitsune-**Thank you, thank you… you always say the nicest things. Did you like this chapter? I hope so. I hope you hang my fanring for a long time.

**Vesca-**Thank you. I love the study of reincarnation, and I always wanted to write a story about it. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Hope this chapter was worth the wait.

**Animegurl7831**-thank you for hanging out and for all of your great support. Hope you like this chapter. As for KK fluff… its coming.

**Rath141419**-How was this chapter? Good enough?

**RogueSummerLover**-I am feeling much better. Thank you for your concern and sympathies. My kitty died, but I keep telling myself she's in a better place. I miss her…

**Anna Sakurai-**I'll take your advice on 'Sueric' if you send me a link. For some reason I can't find the author name. Thanks for the heads up. I love Inuyasha. I think I need to write some more about that Anime. Hmm….

**Kanna-chi-**Thank you for your advice. I am feeling better… I don't usually end up in the hospital, I just get very tired and the pain in my joints gets bad. I hope your sister is alright. Being in the hospital is the pits.

**BlueUnknown-**Thank you for your heartfelt emotional support. I appreciate you being there. I'm so glad we had the chance to cross paths here. I hope to see you around for a long time.

**Kawiineko4eva-**Thank you for your prayers and patience. I hope this was worth waiting for.

**KuronuesLove52**-2 days… WoW! I tried re-reading it and it took me longer than 2 days. You have some major stamina there, kiddo. Thanks for taking the time and I humbly hope you enjoyed this chapter. God bless, and thank you for your prayers. Everything helps.

**Kodora Fairy-**Banned from fan fiction? By whom? I had wondered where you went. I missed you. I enjoy your 'smiling' reviews. They always leave me feeling better about myself and what I've done. Thank you for your support over my kitty. God bless… take care. I hope to see you again.

**Darkdragon66**-Sorry about getting you in trouble. J I'm flattered you stayed up late just to read my story. Thanks… God bless. Hope you don't get grounded.

**Serlgee**- Grandpa gave your dog away? How awful. That must have been devastating… It's always nice to meet an Inuyasha fan who has taken the time to read my RK fics. Thank you… and thank you for your concern and support in this difficult time for me. God bless…

**Christian wei jr-**thanks for pointing out my stumble in theology. You are, of course, right. I was just trying to find a way to get the Reverend's beliefs across. Thank you for reading and reviewing, and thank you for your support. It means a great deal.

**Captain Stu**-Here's the update, sweet friend. Was it worth the wait? Thank you so much for you kind words and support. It I ever do get this beast published, I'll let you guys know. Thank you for believing in me.

**Ashley-**Thank you from the bottom of my old lady's heart for everything you said. Reading your review and the thoughts you sent me on the death of my kitty… God bless, they mean the world to me. And as for publishing 'bad kid'? It has actually crossed my mind… I'm trying to write a full-scale fantasy novel at the moment and it's an undertaking like nothing I've ever done. Thank you for your confidence and support.

**Hakushin-**Thank you for taking the time to leave me such a nice review. Thanks for your support on the death of my dear kitty. I hope school didn't completely burn your brain out. Enjoy your summer vacation… I hope to see you again.

**Polaris fire star**-I missed you! So sorry about your computer. I hope everything is alright now. Did you like the new chapter?

**Jessikitty-**Thank you, Jessi. Thank you for the wonderful praise and the kind words about my story. Most people just say 'great story' or whatever. You went much farther. Thank you… and thank you for the support over my kitty. She did indeed finally pass away. It was for the best.

**Luna987**-You read this thing in one sitting? Holy sh-t! Thanks… and thanks for you concern and support over my kitty. Hope to see you again. God Bless…


	30. The Spider's Web

_A/N: No more Review Responses. Apparently they have been banned by the powers that be. So... to all my loyal loved ones... Sessha says, Arigato from the deepest reaches of my heart. You are all my Saiai's (Beloved's) and my Shin-yuu's (Friends). To my 'children' and 'deshi's' (apprentices), God bless, young ones. You are all forever in my heart and the lights of my soul. To all of my dear fans... to everyone who has been here through thick, thin, bad, worse, and the good times...Aishiteru, you are my Angels. Only One more chapter, and the Epilogue. _

_Chapter Thirty_

The Spider's Web

**Part One: The Lie**

Sedgmont, New York

Early Spring, 1818

Kaoru stood looking out the window of the room above the rectory she was currently being forced to share with her 'new husband'. Three days passed since the wedding and so far each night Daniel had returned to his bed to do nothing more than sleep. He was being attentive, charming, and polite and it was driving her insane.

'_He's a snake in sheep's clothing,'_ she thought, rubbing her arms with stiff, nervous fingers. _'He could turn on me at any time and I wouldn't know what to do... how would I protect myself from him? He's such a big man... oh Kenshin, why do I feel like you're so far away? Why am I so scared? I know you won't let him hurt me, but... what if you aren't here and something happens? What will I do?' _

She knew it would be more than she could take if Daniel tried to initiate his 'marital rights', but if he did, what could she do about it? Technically he was her husband. Did she have the right to deny him?

"What is it, my dear?"

The concerned voice of the Reverend reached her ears and she turned to look behind her. He was standing framed in the doorway, his face etched with worry. "I-I'm just a little cold." She lied, pulling the woolen shawl she wore a little tighter around her shoulders. "There's a chill in the air this morning."

"Aye, there is that, but that isn't what's bothering you." Perception had always been one of his special gifts and he used it often when dealing with his parishioners. It was a shame it hadn't served him better where his eldest son was concerned. "You can speak to me, child." He prodded gently, approaching Kaoru. "Perhaps I can help ease your mind."

"I'm sorry, Reverend," Kaoru shook her head and faced him with large, anxiety filled eyes. "I'm just so... so... so afraid of what's going to happen."

"What do you fear the most?"

"Daniel wanting to play the husband... I-I don't think I could take it if he... if he..."

"I understand, dear." The Reverend pursed his lips and then put a gentle arm around Kaoru's slim shoulders. "But you realize he isn't going to approach you on that matter still for some time. You said yourself Cassandra assured you it was after my death and burial before he approached her."

"I know, but things aren't exactly the same as they were the first time around in this. Our being back here has changed so many things already, what's to say it doesn't alter his desire to become a 'real husband' before he attempts to murder you?"

"I suppose you have a valid point, child, but despite his deceptions, Daniel is still a man bound to his time just as you are a woman bound to yours. He is forced through his up-bringing to observe some modicum of restraint for at least a minor period of time. It would be unseemly for him if he were to initiate his 'rights' before a proper waiting period."

"I pray to God you're right, Master March." She turned and gazed out the window again, her thoughts still troubled. "Kenshin would make good on his threat to kill him if it does happen, you know this, don't you?"

"Aye, I know this, but neither he nor I plan on letting either of those things happen." Reverend March patted Kaoru's shoulder in an attempt to comfort and reassure her. "Master Himura is one of the most honorable young men I've had the pleasure of meeting, child. He will not fail you. You must have faith in him and believe he will protect you."

"I know, and I do, it's just... what if something happens and he's too far away to help me?"

"That will never happen, Kaoru. That young man is more tenacious than any soul I've come across. He will never allow himself to be 'too far away'. You must believe that. He spends every night here in the rectory..."

"He-he does?" Kaoru was startled. "I didn't know that."

"Aye. He's been sneaking out of his own house after Mrs. Connely is asleep and coming here to set in vigil. Then, he leaves early enough in the morning to be back before she knows he's been gone."

Kaoru smiled despite her worry. Trust Kenshin to find a way to keep her within arms reach. "Bless him." She murmured, feeling the sting of tears bite her eyes. "I should have known he'd do something like that."

"You're as safe as you can be, my dear. Trust in your beloved. He will take care of you."

Kaoru wiped a stray tear off her cheek and nodded. "Yes, he will." She said, looking out the window again. "Yes, he will."

**qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp**

Daniel walked out of the Court House, the deed to _'Binker's Farm' _safely tucked in his vest. Master Adams had been more than happy to turn the property over to him when he showed up with the money for the back taxes.

"It's a fine property, Master Daniel." He beamed. "Just right for a young couple startin' out."

"Aye, Master Adams, I believe you are right on that accord." Daniel shook the old man's hand cordially. "I plan to build a house for my bride as soon as I can get the bridge in good condition."

"And with yer' own brother being the fine carpenter he is, that shouldn't take long at all."

"Indeed, Elliot does have a fine hand when it comes to wood. I've been thinking of having him build the house as well. I'm sure he'd do a grand job." _'In a pig's eye,' _Daniel smirked to himself. _'The man can't find his own arse with a hammer, but it sounds nice and the old man is buying it.' _

"I wish ye much luck then, Master Daniel. May God bless you and your new bride with happiness and a large family."

"Aye, indeed." Daniel gave the old assessor a polite nod and left. Now he stood in the street, his mind rolling the beginnings of a plan through the motions and steps of birth as it took form and became real. A slow smile curved his thin lips as he mounted his horse. _'Soon,' _he thought, nudging the animal into motion. _'Very soon.' _

It took him less then five minutes to reach the rectory. His boots made hollow sounds as he thudded up the stairs to the room he shared with Cassandra. Inside he found his new bride sleeping quietly on their double bed. The blue-black gleaming length of her long hair dripped like ebony silk over her slender shoulders and across her waist, making his hands itch to feel it slipping through his fingers. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen and the more he looked at her the more he wanted her. Images of her writhing beneath him in their bed, moaning his name and panting with passion and desire were beginning to fill his dreams almost as much as his waking thoughts. Waiting the customary thirty days before consummating his marital rights with his bride was going to be agony and Daniel wasn't at all certain he would last that long. Perhaps... a wicked thought crept into his mind as the vision of his father's death danced upon his heart. Once the old man was gone, he would be the community's religious leader and above reproach. He could do anything he wanted, and that gave him another reason to push his plan into motion.

"Father?" he called softly as he left the room, closing the door behind him. "Are you here?"

"In my room, Daniel."

"Ah, there you are." Daniel offered his father his brightest smile and pulled the deed out of his vest. "I 'ave a great surprise for you... and Cassandra. Look what I've done." Handing the carefully folded document over to his father, Daniel waited with expectation for the response he knew he would get.

"_Binker's Farm?"_ Reverend March looked perplexed for a moment, and then he met his son's happy face. "You've bought the old farm, have you?"

"Aye, Father. For Cassy and me."

"That's wonderful, Daniel. When did this occur?"

"Just this morn." Daniel puffed his chest out and basked in the rarity of his father's praise. "I plan to build a house for her as soon as I can."

"Great plans, you have, my boy." The Reverend eyed the deed with a hooded gaze, his true thoughts hidden. "I'm proud of you, Daniel."

"Thank-you, Father. I was hoping I could get you to ride out there with me today to look at the old homestead."

"For what reason?"

"To see if you think any of the foundation or framin' can be saved. You know more about buildin' than I do."

"If you want a building opinion, Daniel, you ought to take your brother."

"Mayhaps, but I trust your vision more, and I want to show you the property and hear what you think. Is that so terrible?" Daniel held his breath, waiting for the Reverends reply and praying it would be favorable. He hadn't thought the old man would offer his brother instead of himself to look at Daniel's new prize, and for a moment he felt the horror of his plan slipping away into oblivion shivering up his spine. He had to get his father out on that property somehow, and it had to be today. "Please, Father? I'll saddle yer 'orse for you..."

"Alright, Daniel. If it really means that much to you..."

"Aye, it does." Relief flooded his system and a mental sigh sifted through his thoughts. "I'll meet you around the front of the church. Get yer coat, its cold out this mornin'."

"I'll be down shortly." The Reverends reply was cheerful and followed Daniel down the stairs, and then the elder man gently laid the property deed on his bed and reached for his coat. "I must speak to Master Aoshi." He murmured through tight, pale lips, pulling the heavy garment on and adjusting it over his shoulders. "Merciful God, be with us all and let that young man be in the chapel."

Aoshi stood leaning against the far wall of the chapel, the shadows keeping him from being a conspicuous oddity. The Reverend almost passed him over as part of the corner, nearly jumping out of his skin when part of the dark reached out and touched him on the arm.

"Master Aoshi!" He hissed through clenched teeth, grabbing the front of his white shirt. "You frightened the life out of me."

"My apologies, Reverend March." Aoshi's face was contrite. "It was not my intention to startle you. I thought you saw me."

"Nay," The Reverent shook his head, running a trembling hand over his jaw. "You may as well of been part of the wall for all I saw of you, young man."

"Forgive me, Reverend. I was trying to keep Daniel from seeing me, but it never occurred to me that I'd hidden from you as well." Aoshi raised one dark brow. "I suppose that means I accomplished what I was trying to do, hmm?"

"Indeed," The Reverend nodded, straightening his coat. "You did that." He watched as the strange future version of his son clasp his hands behind him and grew quiet, waiting. It was an unsettling trait he was coming to associate with the young man. It meant he was finished with the current subject and moved onto the next, waiting for the Reverend to tell him why he was there. The pure patience of the act and the directness of the icy blue gaze often made the Reverend feel as if he were looking into the face of a crouched predator waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

"Daniel has made his move."

"What happened?" Aoshi leaned closer, his eyes narrow.

"He's bought _Binker's Farm_ today, and just now approached me to go out there with him to look at the old homestead. He wants my opinion on whether or not any of the building can be salvaged."

"Shouldn't that be something he asked Elliot...not you?"

"That is precisely what I said to him."

"And?"

"He claims to trust my 'vision' more, and wants to show the property to me and hear what I have to say."

"You know he's lying to you, don't you, Master March?"

"Aye," The Reverend turned and looked up at the pulpit he preached from every Sunday. "I heard it in his voice and saw it in his eyes when I attempted to find a reason not to go with him. There was the most fleeting glimpse of panic, and in that moment, I knew for a certainty that everything you and Master Himura have said is completely true. He's taking me out there today to relieve me of my life."

"I'm sorry, Master March." Aoshi gently squeezed the old man's shoulder. "You know we aren't going to let that happen... don't you?"

"Aye, but the knowledge he plans to do it is worse than I thought it would be." Sorrowful eyes looked up to capture Aoshi's gaze. "Up to this point I thought I was accepting of the future you and Master Himura laid at my feet, but I was not. Not entirely. I must accept it now, you see, because I saw it in his eyes. I saw the desire and the want, the need and the hatred. My son wants to kill me for nothing more than what he sees as the power of my position in the community, and knowing that I must admit that he has become a servant of Darkness."

"You, yourself, said we have to save him, Reverend. Remember that... and remember Himura and I will do everything we can to keep what he has planned from happening."

"Aye, I will remember, Master Aoshi." Impulsively, the Reverend hugged the tall, slender young man. "I will remember, and God be with us... all of us."

"Indeed," Aoshi replied. "I'll get Himura and Soujiro. We'll be right behind you."

"I'm going too."

The two men looked toward the open doorway and saw Kaoru, watching their exchange. The look on her face told them she had heard enough of the conversation to know what was going on. There was no use trying to get her to stay, besides it was decided earlier that her presence was necessary regardless.

"Alright, Kaoru." Aoshi met her fierce gaze. "But you do everything Himura tells you. This is going to be dangerous."

"I probably understand that better than you do, Aoshi." Her voice was stern, but her face was pale, making her eyes glitter. "Remember, I've met both Hiko and Daniel, and neither one of them are much of a prize."

"I know... just don't get too close, alight?"

"Not a problem."

Reverend March's gaze darted uncomfortably between the two friends and his thoughts turned to the task ahead. It was all so surreal and intangible to him. It should be impossible, yet these two young people were not his son Elliot nor the girl Cassandra. The tones of their voices and their speech told him that, but just looking at their faces now told him the same thing. He hoped this was not the last chance he was allowed to spend time in their presence.

"Miss Kaoru, you must have a shawl, child. It's too cold for just your dress."

"Alright, Reverend." She nodded and went back up the stairs.

"You be certain nothing happens to her, Master Aoshi." The Reverends words were low but held a steel edge. "That girl is more angel than human and she deserves to live, maybe more than the rest of us."

"Indeed," Aoshi's voice shifted slightly and Elliot flexed his muscles. "I won't let anything happen to her, Father. Not this time."

Maxwell March jerked around with a start and found himself staring into the deep emerald green eyes of his son for the first time in many days, and his mouth gapped open. "E-elliot?" he stammered, reaching for the tall man's coat and grabbing a fist full. "Elliot?"

"Aye, Father, it is I... for a moment." Elliot March let the hint of a smile touch his mouth, and then grasped his father's wrist and held it tight. "Aoshi is very strong and it is difficult for me to come out for very long, but rest assured, I am here."

"Praise be..." Tears formed in the old man's eyes. "It is good to see you."

"Stay close to Aoshi, Father." Elliot's voice was low and gruff. "Daniel is a beast. Watch these children and keep their positions in your mind. They, Ethan, Edmond, and myself will save you...and hopefully we will be able to reach the light in Hiko's soul before we lose Daniel to Hell completely."

"Have faith, my son. God will help us. He sent these children to save your brother's soul. I believe that, and so must you."

"I am not certain what I believe God sent them for, Father, but I do believe they were sent to save you. That I do know."

"They were sent to save us all, Elliot. Even Daniel."

"Perhaps," Elliot's eyes turned hard. "But it is not his life I will be worrying about out there, today. It will be yours. Remember that, Father. I have all but washed my hands of Daniel. I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive...as well as the rest of us."

"I understand," Maxwell March looked into his second born's face one last time and then turned away. "I must meet Daniel now before he becomes suspicious that something is amiss."

"Stall him as much as you can, Father." Elliot's face was pinched with concern. "We will not be far behind."

"Aye, I will do all that I can, but try to remember one thing, Elliot."

"What is that?"

"Whatever else Daniel may be in this life or the next, he is still your brother... and my son." Maxwell stopped and cast a misty look over his shoulder, capturing his youngest son's gaze for a brief moment. "I still love him, and I will do whatever it takes to try and save him. I beg you to do the same. We must not lose this chance to stop him from slipping into the depths of everlasting damnation. We must not lose him, Elliot. We cannot lose him. If we do, we lose ourselves as well."

Elliot/Aoshi watched with a heavy heart as Reverend March disappeared out the doors of the chapel on his way to meeting his eldest son. _'We won't let it happen, Elliot, I promise, we won't.' _Aoshi's cool tones echoed inside Elliot's soul and the dual persona clenched it's fists. "No, we won't. Where is Master Himura about now?"

"He and Soujiro are at the school." Kaoru said in a voice filled with awe as she entered the chapel, her eyes wide with wonder. She had never seen Elliot March though she'd often felt the brush of his presence on Aoshi, but now as the tall, thin man turned to look at her, she sucked in a sharp breath. Eyes several shades darker than Daniel's glittered in a face, that could have been her friend's, but it wasn't. "Elliot?"

"Aye, Miss Kaoru." He nodded and offered her his arm. "Please don't be afraid."

"I"m not," she said gazing up at him. "It's just... I... you've never been 'out' before. Cassandra has such immense trust and respect for you, I'm honored to finally meet you in person."

"It is my honor, young one." He patted her hand as it disappeared in the crook of his elbow. "You and your companions have braved much to be here. I only pray we have not risked more than we can afford to lose."

"We aren't going to lose, Elliot."

He looked down into her face and saw a determination that reminded him of his dear Cassandra and Elliot felt a tight constriction inside his throat. His father was right. This girl was more angel than human. "I hope you're right, Miss Kaoru, but only time will tell. Come now, we must fetch Master Himura and his brother. Father and Daniel have no doubt already left for the farm, so there is not a moment to lose."

"Then we need to hurry, Elliot. Only God knows what Daniel has planned for that poor old man."

"Aye. Speed is of the essence." Together they looked out the doors to be certain Daniel and the Reverend was gone, then they ran to the barn and Elliot saddled his horse, mounting with Kaoru behind him. Quickly he urged the animal down the road toward the school where they found Kenshin and Soujiro trying to teach mathematics to a classroom of some forty students of varying ages. One look from Elliot and they dismissed the class with a paltry excuse of Master Fetlock feeling ill, and then they mounted their horses and the four of them beat a hasty exit to the north end of town. _Binker's Farm _was five miles out and would take them the better part of an hour to reach.

The past was catching up to the future and the hour of reckoning was upon them.

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The Spider's Web

**Part Two: The Trap**

Daniel could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins and his heart felt like it was trying to claw it's way free from his chest. He struggled to keep his breathing as normal as possible but could hear it whistling through his nose as the excitement in his system rose to a fever pitch. Never in his life had he been so close to achieving every goal he'd ever dreamed of as he was this moment. Cassandra O'Massy was his wife, her father was under his thumb; his wealth soon to be at his disposal, and now his father stood at his side, oblivious to his intentions and there wasn't a soul within five miles to stop him from making all his wants and desires reality.

Life was about to become his pearl.

"So, what do you think, Father? Is the homestead worth savin'?" Making foolish conversation was grating on his nerves, but Daniel knew he had to be careful. His father was shrewd and would smell a rotten twist unless he watched his words and actions. Patience was the key and knowing no one was coming to save the old man made the anticipation bearable, but just barely.

"Hmm, perhaps, but only some parts of it. You see here... and here?" The Reverend moved and started to point out key spots along the old derelict house. "The foundation is still reasonably solid in these areas even though the structure itself has collapsed, but here..." he indicated another place along the south corner. "Do you see this?"

"Aye?" Daniel made the effort to appear interested and bent over to inspect what his father was pointing out. "What is that?"

"Dry rot. This entire room will have to be replaced. Can you see?"

"Aye." He really didn't care. Once the old man was gone, he would move into the main living quarters over the church, and he would let Cassandra redecorate if she wanted to. "Do you think it will be costly to repair?"

"That is a question you ought to ask your brother, Daniel. Elliot is the carpenter, not I. He would know about such things. I suggest you consult him. Perhaps he would offer to help you and keep your costs down."

"Hmm..." _'In a pig's eye...' _"I'll think about that." He patted his father's slim, boney shoulder and smiled. "I wanted you to look at the bridge too, and the stream runnin' under. I think there might be enough water to levy out and plant corn next year."

"Are you certain?" A cloud passed over the Reverend's eyes. Reality was painful. "Corn requires a great deal of water to prosper. Would it be worth the effort to build a levy?"

"That's why I want you to look at the stream, Father. You _are_ the expert planter. You tell me." The Reverend was trapped and Daniel knew it. Gleeful laughter bubbled through his psyche as he watched his father mount and turn his horse toward the old dilapidated bridge. Quickly he followed and was soon abreast with his father's steed. This was working out so easily Daniel wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. He could have been rid of the old man years ago. "The wash is quite deep," he said, casting a sideways look at the Reverend. "You get the best look at the water from the bridge itself."

"Is it safe?"

"Safe for horses, Father, but I wouldn't take a buggy or wagon over it."

"I see, well then, let's see about your water."

Daniel nodded and led his father back to the horses. His skin prickled with anticipation and something familiar yet foreign flexed just beneath the surface of his thoughts. He could almost feel the fragile bones in his father's aged body crumbling in his hands and the sensation sent his saliva glands into action, filling his mouth with fluid and forcing him to swallow rather loudly.

"Are you all right, Daniel?" The Reverend asked, eyeing his son's suddenly pale face with concern, just as he reached for the reins to his mount. "You look rather peaked."

"Aye, Father. Just a little dry throat." Daniel prayed the tremor in hands would go unnoticed. "Must be the foxgloves bloomin'."

"Hmm, I have a bit of water here if you'd like..."

"I'm fine." He shook his head, cupping his hands to help the old man up into the saddle. "It's just a tickle."

"If you're sure..."

"I told ya I was fine, didn't I?" Daniel heaved his father upward, watching as he swung his leg over the horses back. "Now don't be worryin' over me. It's nothing." He said, trying to make his voice sound reassuring. "I'll have Cassy brew me some peppermint tea when we get back. That ought to fetch me 'round in no time, eh?"

"Aye, that should do it." The Reverend seemed to accept the solution, his eyes hooded beneath the brim of his hat. "Be sure she makes it strong." He added, turning his horse toward the bridge. "It's best that way."

"I will." Daniel breathed a quiet sigh of relief, mounting his horse and urging it in the same direction as his father. "I'll have her add some chamomile to it as well."

"That is a fine idea." The Reverend spoke over his shoulder, his voice muffled by his coat. "That will keep you from catching a chill."

"Aye." Daniel forced a smile to his face. The conversation was pleasantly benign and he was sure his father suspected nothing. But then, why should he suspect anything? Daniel was his son. He trusted him implicitly. _'Fool,' _he thought maliciously. _'A serpent lives in your midst and you can't even see him. Nay, you feed and house him in your home, harbor him in your heart, and coddle him in your very soul. For being a man of God, you haven't the eyes to see anything past your own nose, old man. You're blinder than the mice who call you their Patron Redeemer. It will be a service to mankind, ending your pitiful, worthless existence. Not even the Spring breezes will mourn your passing, nay, it will be a great day when a hand of strength rises to wield power and authority over these lost souls... and that day is today.'_

"How much farther, Kenshin?" Soujiro panted, leaning over the neck of his horse. "We have to be getting close."

"I don't know, Sou." Kenshin's eyes were a raging gold, his heart thundering a close pace with the horses hooves beating the dirt road. "Elliot?"

"Not far, my friend. Maybe another mile." The cold emerald gaze narrowed, looking ahead, trying to judge the distance to the old farm. "We should probably get off this road and cut across the forest so Daniel doesn't see us."

"Whatever you say." Kenshin cast a worried glance back at Kaoru, who was riding behind him, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. "You okay?"

"Yes," she answered, hugging him tighter. "Do whatever you have to. If it's through the forest, then that's where we go. I'll be all right. It's not like I'm going to fall off or something."

"I know, I just..."

"I know, me too." Her nose rubbed the spot between his shoulder blades, and then she laid her cheek on him. "I love you too."

His eyes closed and he dropped his head back, letting it fall on top of hers. A long, deep sigh lifted his chest, and he soaked up the feel and touch of her. In all his life, Kenshin never knew loving someone could feel like this. He was so scared, so scared he wouldn't be able to protect her, so scare he wouldn't be able to do what had to be done, and so scared he was going to end up dead and he would never know what it felt like to be with her for the rest of his life. _'Please, God... if you're really up there, help us. I've never asked you for anything before, but I'm asking now. Please get me through this in one piece, let me be with her. She's all I want... all I ever wanted for myself. I swear I'll never be a smart-ass again. I'll make it up to Master Saitou... he's the only real dad I ever had, and he tried, he really tried. I'll take care of Kaoru, my mom, Cleo, and Soujiro. I'll take care of everybody... I swear I will, just please, help me do this... help me... don't let me kill him. As much as I want to, don't let me... don't let me... don't...'_

"This way, Master Himura. We can reach the stream and follow it to the bridge."

"Can we get there without them seeing us?"

"The wash is deep... I think so."

"Then let's do it. We don't have a lot of time."

"Indeed. It seems time has always been against us, eh?"

"For over two hundred years, Elliot." Kenshin's golden crystals met and locked with the icy green orbs. "I think it's time we stole some of it back, don't you?"

"Absolutely." A cold half smile shifted across the lean face that more reminiscent of Aoshi than the stoic colonial. "It's time to shake the trees and see what falls out."

"Now you're talking." Kenshin grinned and kicked his horse into a full gallop, the other two close behind. "Lets go kick some colonial ass!"

"Yeehaw!" Soujiro slapped his horse into motion with the ends of his reins, sending it jumping over a fallen tree trunk. "I got first dibbs!" He crowed, the sorrel mare he rode bounding through the trees like a bullet. Behind him Kenshin and Elliot laughed, following suit until all three horses were lost in the evergreens, their long legs eating up the distance.

The old, rickety bridge moaned and groaned when the horses stepped onto the rotting logs. The sounds of snapping splinters rose from underneath and both animals balked, tossing their heads and chewing on their bits in agitation. Daniel's big black started pawing the old wood with his right hoof and dancing back and forth. The gelding definitely did not want to go any further.

"All right, Tarkin," He reached forward and gently patted the horses neck. "You don't have to go. We'll stop here, calm down, boy. It's all right, it's all right, shhhhh... it's all right."

"It appears neither of them want to traverse the bridge, Daniel." The Reverend's voice was slightly tight as he tried to calm his own horse. "Are you certain it's safe? The bridge, I mean?"

"Of course, I stood on it, myself, not more than a week past." Daniel dismounted and led the nervous animal away. "They just don't like the sounds. Makes 'em jittery, that's all."

"Hmm, I suppose." The Reverend dismounted and led his horse to where Daniel was tying his to a low branch. "But you know, animals are usually more intuitive about danger than we humans are, perhaps we should be a bit more mindful, eh? The bridge may not hold both of us."

"Father," Daniel sighed, "the bridge is perfectly safe, I told ya so. Now stop worryin'. Everything's fine. Trust me."

_Trust me..._


	31. A Lost Soul

A/N: I have gone back and re-read so many chapters while writing these last chapters. It appalls me that I have skewed so many of my own details. I suppose it has just been so damn long in the writing, and I've had so many personal tragedies and upheavals while writing it... I should have kept better notes. There are so many 'little' problems that I found with details I screwed up. Now that it is at an end, there really isn't anything I can do about it, but hopefully, they are small enough they won't matter a whole lot. If the day ever comes that I go back and re-write this story, I'll have a lot of things to fix. LOL.

1. I named both Kaoru and Kenshin's fathers Ishida (duh)

2. I had Daniel tell Edmond Cassandra was pregnant with his baby when he killed her AND then I had Edmond tell Daniel she was pregnant when he killed her. Oops! (Rolls eyes)

3. Yahiko vanished off the face of the earth after the lighthouse experience.

4. My colonial facts were about 2/3 accurate. I got tired of researching. (Blarg!)

5. My character language structures changed without warning. I just wasn't consistent. (Stupid old woman)

6. And other stuff that just needs tweaking, like my insinuation that Hiko knew how to play with a sword when in fact he didn't. Daniel did. Hiko just made it smoother 'cause he had more control. Just stuff. (Yeech!)

But hey, we had a good time. I read the early chapters and I can see my writing evolving as I went. I hope I got better. I think I did. I hope you think I did too. At this moment in time, I'll be going back to work on 'Do you want to live forever?' and 'Black Hawke'. 'Black Hawke' is on AFFN and Media and is a graphic/violent, uncensored lemon with Aoshi/Kaoru Kenshin/Misou Shishio/Yumi pairings. It is very non-traditional and is A/U. There are drugs, murder, mystery, and heavy emotional issues along with some good old fashioned Tsuki humor. It is doing very well over on MM. If any of you know BelleDayNight, she's the one who turned me onto the A/K pairing. She loves it. Her stuff is full of it. I have her all over my website. Great stories. 'Live Forever' is here on FF and on AFFN. It is A/U with all traditional pairings. It has heavy lemon content on AFFN, but is censored here on FF. It is going to be a rolling epic of 40-50 chapters, so with the 19 that are up it is barely off the ground. It is complex, and has a heavy historical/mythilogical background of my own creation. It's is a vampire fic, but very non-traditional. These are MY vampires... no Dracula shit here. Everything is my brainchild. I love this story, but it's not for everyone. Most people shy away from it because it is a Vamp fic. But this one is modern day, set in New York city. It's bloody, it's sexy, and there are a lot of surprises. The bad guy is a sexy beast too. I already have fans who are in love with him. But the reallly bad guy... he's just bad. He gives me the creepies, but I'm having a ball with him. If you don't like blood... well... The love issues, as always, are deep and heartfelt. The philosophies are heavy, as mine always are, but give it a chance before you say 'no'. It's where I'll be. (Oh, the penname on MM is Mangetsu )

God love and bless you all.

Tsuki-san

P.S. This is one long-assed chapter. I didn't want to make another one, so I just kept going.

Chapter Thirty-One

Searching for a Lost Soul

Sedgmont, New York

Early Spring, 1818

As they approached the rickety bridge for the second time, both Daniel and the Reverend were stunned to find themselves looking into the serious, if not threatening faces of Edmond Fetlock, Ethan O'Massy, and Elliot March who were standing on the other side. Edmond stood foremost with the others just behind, flanking him. None of the three looked the least bit friendly.

"What are ye doing 'ere, Master Fetlock, and with me younger brothers hanging off yer coattails?" Daniel began to feel very uneasy. Something was wrong. The School Master had the expression on him that he knew something was amiss, but how could he? No one knew anything. No one...

"I might be asking you the same thing, Master March? What be you doing all the way out here with yer aged father... he's in no condition for a ride such as this on a morning so cold. Why have you brought him out here?"

"That's none of your affair, School Master." Daniel barked, his brows pulling together in a ferocious scowl. "Ye have no rights questionin' me..."

"Nay, but I do." Elliot stood forward, gritting his teeth as Aoshi flexed just beneath the surface. _'Careful, Elliot... careful.' _"Are ye out of your mind bringing Father out here in this cold? He'll catch his death breathing this chill." He pushed forward one more step, threatening. "Unless that is what you intended, him cathin' his death?"

"Indeed," Soujiro stepped up next to Kenshin/Edmond's side and narrowed his gaze, finding Daniel's eyes and holding them steady for a long, hard moment before he spoke again. "Is that your intention? To bring harm to this kindly, old man... FATHER?"

"_F-FATHER?"_ Daniel's face turned pale, his brows twitching, lids blinking, and the muscles in his cheeks ticking. Confusion crawled across his face, twisting his mouth and silencing any further words as his brain struggled to understand what his wife's young brother had just spoken to him. _'Father? What does that mean...and why does it almost sound right...why is it familiar... what in the name of hell...? Why can't I remember...what am I supposed to remember...' _His head started to hurt. Worse than any hangover he ever remembered.

"That's right, old man." Kenshin rose to the surface and cocked his head. "Have you taken to preying on the Elderly in your boredom since I'm not around anymore? Is that how you fill your spare time when I'm not available to be your punching bag?"

"Wha..." Daniel stumbled to the side, holding his head as a lightening rod of pain sliced through it, temporarily blinding him. "What are ya talkin' about, Fetlock? I never hit ye a day in yer life. What...is...I... ahhhh, me head! What the hell are you doin' to me?"

"We aren't doing anything to you... Daniel March." Kenshin snarled, placing his foot on the first gray plank of the bridge. "I'm talking to the bastard inside of you. I'm talking to my step-father... Hiko Seigurou. I know you can hear me, you worthless son-of-a-bitch. Now come out of there before this murdering asshole off's his old man and destroys all of our lives...including yours!"

A massive convulsion quacked through Daniel's body, throwing him to the ground, limbs thrashing, his neck and back arching until the vertebrae popped. Reverend March cried out, falling to his knees beside his stricken son, trying to hold him down, but was thrown back by a flailing arm.

"What's happening to my son?" He yelled, his eyes wild. "What have you done to him?"

"It's called a seizure, Master March." The voice of Aoshi Shinomori drifted across the bridge, attempting to comfort the distraught old man. "It would seem that Hiko and Daniel are fighting for possession of the body. Theirs is not a symbiotic relationship as ours is, in that he is not as an accepting a host to Hiko as Hiko was to him. He made Hiko feel powerful and was, therefore, embraced and encouraged. Hiko, on the other hand, is nothing more than an uncomfortable hindrance, and has been repressed. Daniel remembers nothing about being in our time because of that."

"But why is this... this shaking happening?"

"His brain is being forced to recognize something it does not want to believe... that there are two of him inside of his head. If nothing else, Daniel and Hiko are both egotistical to a fault of perfection. But Hiko is the weaker of the two. It was easy for Daniel to become the dominant entity. However, Daniel's hatred of Edmond was the most powerful emotion this tragedy spawned, and it was passed to Hiko and borne in his hatred for his step-son Kenshin, where it became even more powerful and twisted..."

"A more powerful hatred..." Maxwell March's eyes became tortured as they sought out the lavender-gold of Kenshin Himura. "Even as a youth, you are still the man he could never be, Master Himura. You _are_ the Destroying Angel, my boy. You are _The Judge, _with your golden eyes and hair of flame. He, among all the Arch Angels, had the right to pass sentence on the greatest sinners...including his own brothers."

Kenshin caught his breath. "An Arch Angel Judge? What?"

"Aye, his wings were dipped in blood, staining his feathers a deep red. He was beautiful and terrifying at the same time." The Reverend stood and approached his side of the bridge and locked gazes with Kenshin. "As a boy, I was the most afraid of _The Judge_. When I was bad, I would have nightmares of his greatness passing through my bedroom window and stealing my younger sister away as punishment on my soul, and when she died of the influenza as a small child, I wondered if my dreams were true."

"Angels don't take babies, Master March." Kenshin's voice was soft, and strained. "They are supposed to protect the innocents."

"Aye, and _you_ did." He nodded. "You protected your whole family... your sweet mother, a boy who wasn't your blood, and your wee sister. You saved them all from the wrath of man who should have been the one to offer them the protection and security you blanketed across their souls."

"I..."

"Please," A strangeness passed over aged countenance, and Maxwell March ceased to be a man of God, but one who feared the repercussions of his own mistakes more. "Please, Great Lord, I beg of you." Tears formed in the faded green eyes as they pleaded with spirit more powerful than anything he he'd seen or understood before. "Don't kill my son. Give me another chance to raise him into the kind of man he should have been... somehow you have the power of time. Take us back to the beginning. Make him an infant... give me the chance to try again..."

"Reverend..." Kenshin took another step, almost to stunned to speak. "I-I don't know how, I swear I don't. Please believe me. I'm not an Angel. I'm just the guy who always seems to be in the wrong place at the right time."

"I-I don't understand."

"I either end up saving everybody else, or I fail so bad everyone dies... but either way, it looks like I end up dead."

"Why do you say that?" Reverend March stared confused. "You aren't dead here?"

"Not yet, but it's looking at me... over your shoulder."

Reverend March gasped, swung around and came face to face with a hatred he never knew existed. Fear congealed in the pit of his stomach and his knees buckled, sending him lurching to the side, sprawling face first into the dew covered long grass.

"Father!" Aoshi/Elliot surged forward but was stopped by Kenshin's arm across his chest.

"Don't," the voice was a soft, gruff whisper. "The bridge won't hold you. Why do you think Daniel wanted the Reverend to go first?"

"Bloody hell, he would have fallen right through." Elliot was horrified. "Murderer." He rasped, emerald hard eyes lancing through the man on the other side of the bridge. "He would have fell into the river. It would have broken his back, or worse."

"That seems to have been the idea, ole' boy... Daniel's that is. Me? I couldn't give a shit about your old man. I never could abide Preachers. They talk too much, and all they want is money, your money. Lazy bastards. Stand around and talk about God and Hell fire all day, and then ask you to give them money... pshaw! What a crock."

Kenshin's face was ashen, his throat dry. It had been a bit since he'd heard that particular voice, and he had to admit, he hadn't missed it. "Reverend March?" He called, looking to see the old man rolling onto his back and struggling to a sitting position. "Are you all right?"

"A-aye, just a mouth full of grass and dirt." He replied, brushing his coat with shaking hands.

"Very good, then may I take this unpleasant opportunity to introduce you to my step-father, Hiko Seiguro. He is someone you've never met, The Lord be praised."

"Shut-up, you wise-ass!" Hiko snarled, reaching under his coat, fumbling for something Daniel had hidden. "I really can't believe how fucking screwed up this whole thing is, I don't know how you managed to drag us all back in time; neat trick by the way, but it still isn't going to save you."

"Really?" Kenshin cocked his head, feeling some of his confidence flowing back into his system. "What are you going to do about it? Talk me to death?"

"Very funny." Hiko sneered. "Guess where you are in the real world, Mr. Comedian?"

"I'm dead. Now tell me something I don't know, Einstien."

"I'm going to live, and their going to sew my hand back on. How's that? Bet you didn't figure on that, did ya?"

"You're just guessing, old man." Kenshin taunted, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "You're unconscious, you big ape, and probably bleeding out. Who knows what they're saving and sewing back on. You're probably going to have mom opening your ketsup bottles for you the rest of your life... if she stays with your sorry ass, which I doubt. She's most likely going to divorce you, slam you with a whale-assed settlement, and then throw your sorry self in the gray-bar motel for abuse and murder one."

"Murder!" Hiko laughed, threw his head back and shouted his mirth to the treetops. "You are funny."

"Am I?" He squatted down, surveying the layout of the damaged wood, looking for a possible way over. "Trying sucking on this then; like you said, back in the real world, I'm dead. Well, guess who killed me." Hiko grew silent and gave Kenshin a wary sidelong look. "It won't take the cops long to figure out what happened. Quii Saitou and Kaoru were both there when you attacked me... remember cracking the chair over my head... you started the fight, not me, and I ended up dead trying to save them and protect myself. You were laying in wait for me, that shows premeditation. In the America I come from, that's call First Degree Murder... do they still have the death penalty in Maine?" His violet eyes were sardonic, his hands clasp loosely between his bent knees, and the note of disdain in his voice unmistakable. "You're history, old man, unless we change what was meant to happen out here today."

"I think you're full of shit, boy. You've always been full of shit, you always will be." Hiko's hand reappeared with Daniel's pistol, cocked and ready to fire. "I'm tired of your lip, your attitude, your willingness to give everything up for everyone else. I've hated you for longer than I care to think about. Do you know what it's like to look into the eyes of an eight year old and know he's a better man than you... and know he knows it too? Do you have any idea what that's like for a man like me?"

"No, sir. I don't."

"You ruined me! You knew I was weak, you knew I drank, and you knew I beat my family to make up for feeling inadequate. You knew! A snot-nosed kid I'd never met, and you looked me right in the eye and said, 'You're never going to hurt my family. You'll have to kill me first.'." A broken sob cut off Hiko's revelation and he turned away, the revolver wavering in his hand. "Do you even remember that?"

"I-I'm not sure." Kenshin was thrown by both the admission and Hiko's emotional shift. He'd never seen a shred of emotional pain or distress in this harsh man, and this display was unnerving to say the least.

"Well, you should. It was just before I picked you up and threw you across the livingroom. I think I chipped your front tooth. Dharma told the Dentist you wrecked your bike. That's where the tooth went and the black eye came from." He loosed a rough, ragged laugh. "She had a story for everything."

Kenshin was suddenly sick to his stomach and his vision skewed blurring the old gray planks in front of him. It was a good thing he was already squatting down or he might have fallen over. The rush of the memory was like a tidal wave as it struck his mind and spirit, but it was also one of the most significant moments in his life. It was the first time Hiko ever laid a hand to him. "I-I did know..." His voice was a choked whisper. "You were dangerous and I knew you were going to hurt us the moment you walked in the house. It was like you'd been wearing a costume all those months you and Mom dated. Everything you did was a big lie, you tricked her into believing you were this great guy who loved her and me, but... you didn't love anything. You just didn't want to be alone, and Mom was perfect for you. She was soft, quiet, and gentle. She wouldn't cause problems and she'd do pretty much whatever you told her too."

"God... how could you know that?" Hiko rasped, a single tear slipping down his rugged face. "You couldn't know that. You were just a kid."

"I knew. You were bad." His amber eyes raised and zeroed in on his step-father's stricken face. "I think I knew who you were." That statement chilled the already cold air. "No more, Hiko." His voice dropped to an icy whisper that carried over the bridge and froze the stunned anguished man. "It's over. You and Daniel have haunted and hunted this world for two lifetimes; you've murdered innocents, terrorized and abused those you were meant to care for and protect, and you've sinned against God and sold your soul to the Devil. It's time to stop the cycle. Put the gun down... there aren't going to be any more dead bodies, no more murders in the name of your greed and ambition. Reach inside your soul and find your honor. I think it's still in there if you look for it; come on, Hiko. Let's go home. I don't want to die again. I want to marry Karou and have a family of my own for a change. I want to live...and I-I want you to live too."

"I-I..." Hiko looked down at the ground and then back at Kenshin. "I can't."

"Yes, you can, Dad." Soujiro appeared at Kenshin's side and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. Kenshin gratefully leaned that same shoulder into his brother's knee. "I never wanted to believe that you were all bad. I mean, you're my dad. There were times you held me when I was little and it felt like you loved me, and there were times with Cleo... I know you aren't a complete asshole through and through, so fight it for once in your life. Fight to be better than you are. Fight to be the man you should have been. Don't let Daniel win again. You're better than he is. He murdered his entire family. At least you didn't kill us... did you?"

"Does that make what I did any better than what he did, Sou? What are we doing? Talking degrees of sin here? Are you telling me that I'm not quite the black-hearted son-of-a-bitch he was because I didn't off my family the way he did?" Hiko shook his head and the grip on the pistol tightened. "I don't see that as much of a difference. It's just semantics."

"Semantics?" Kenshin raised his head and looked thoughtfully at the strange image of his step-father self destructing and wondered at the twist of these circumstance and what it meant. "Isn't it semantics that separates each of us from our alternate selves in this twisted time warp at the moment? I mean, we are each the sum of ourselves, but we are still all individuals. I know that Eddy and me are about as different as two men can be, yet he's still me and I'm still him. Nothing can change that, just like nothing can change the fact that you are the sum of what is Daniel March, but that doesn't mean you have to accept his mistakes and make them your own, and you don't have to relive his life either. There is nothing in this world or the next that says you have to be an abusive drunk just because he was." Slowly Kenshin rose to his feet and locked gazes with the silent man across the bridge. "Elliot March was a master carpenter, but Aoshi Shinomori is a mathematics and chemistry genius with a flair for history and science who wants to be a forensic policeman, yet they are still the same man. Do you see what I am saying, Hiko? You don't have to be the man you've been. You don't have to be a monster. It is within you to be your own man. A man who loves and cherishes his family. You don't have to take the same road Daniel did, but you are the only one who can make that choice."

"I... I don't want to be weak."

"Weak?" Kenshin laughed softly. "Do I look weak?" He asked. "Was it weakness you felt when I hammered you across the hallway at the school? Is it weakness you see before you now? Tell me, old man, just what are you afraid of? Being happy, or is the loss of all that power you get from being bad? It's the rush, isn't it? The rush makes you feel bigger than everyone else, doesn't it?"

"Yes..." The admission was a hollow whisper and Hiko's face turned ashen. "You don't know what it's like... the power, the energy. It's like being God. You feel like you could throw a car twelve city blocks with all that power. It's-it's magnificent. It's addictive."

"It's a lie, Hiko. It isn't real. If you want to see what's real, I'll show you what's real." The muscles in Kenshin's legs tightened and he flexed his right foot. "It's called 'God's speed', and I just seemed to be born with it." He shrugged and took a step back, dropping to a crouch. "I guess we'll both find out if it's real or not, won't we."

"Kenshin?" Kaoru stepped out from behind Elliot/Aoshi, her eyes wide with concern. "What are you..."

"Don't worry, honey. I promise everything is going to okay." Soujiro moved back, a look of worried understanding on his face, but he remained silent. The next moment happened in a flash of an eye. One instant Kenshin was crouched a pace away from the rickety bridge, and the next he was a blur of red and blue flying across it. The sounds of the rotten wood splintering and cracking filled the chilled air and the bridge trembled, boards shuddering and crumbling into useless shards, dropping into the river.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru lunged forward and the bridge disintegrated, but Elliot/Aoshi caught her by the waist and kept her from plunging over the edge. "Kenshin... Oh God! No! Kenshin!"

"I'm okay, baby." The rich, smooth voice drifted back to her from the other side. "I told you not to worry. When are you ever going to listen to me?"

"Dammit!" She wiped sudden tears off her face. "I'll start listening when you stop doing stupid stuff." She snapped, struggling to her feet. "You scared the hell outta me."

"Sorry," he smiled, climbing to his feet from the crouch he'd ended up in when he sprang from the splintering bridge. "But you can see I'm all safe and sound, so stop crying. I'm fine."

"Whatever," she groused, folding her arms and glaring at him. "What are you going to do now? Swing from the trees and eat bananas?"

"Kao..." He cast her a warning look before turning to catch a wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression on Hiko's face. The Reverend was on his knees again looking as if he were about to launch into prayer. His faded green eyes alive with fear and disbelief. "Reverend," Kenshin carefully approached the old man. "It's okay. I can just run really fast. It's nothing more than that."

"Nothing more?" Maxwell March closed his eyes and tried not to think about what he'd saw. "You melted into the air, Master Himura. You became nothing more than colored mist raging over the bridge at a speed that defied all logical explanations. More and more you prove yourself not quite human. There is an other worldly presence about you, but I cannot deem it evil. Nay, there is not an evil bone within ye."

"Not evil..." Hiko's words drifted to Kenshin's ears and the youth turned to meet the bewildered gaze. "What in God's name are you, boy?" He asked, his eyes searching the flawless face and bright liquid eyes.

"Just a kid trying to find the answers to a lot of difficult questions, old man." Kenshin straightened to his full height, which still lacked a good six to eight inches of reaching Hiko's, and tucked his hands into the pockets of his pants. "You and I, we've been a long road and this is the second time we've reached the crossroads. What are you going to do this time?"

"Me?" Hiko reared back and stumbled back a pace. "What does that mean?"

"Last time we faced each other and you had a gun in your hand, you ended up shooting me in the head... or don't you remember? It's Daniel's memory, but you should be able to find it if you look hard enough. In fact, you should be able to see all of his memories, after all, he was inside your body in the future after the fact, so you should know everything he ever knew."

"Your point?"

"You know what happens to every one of us, including Cassandra, his wife. Of course, Kaoru and I already know because we saw Daniel's ghost kill Cassandra's ghost in the lighthouse, but you should be able to relive it all, first hand." Kenshin looked down at his feet and scuffed at a stone. "Actually, the biggest mystery we've all wondered about, is what happened to Elliot after Eddy and Sandra left _Sedgmont. _Maybe you could clear that up..."

"Elliot?" Hiko's eyes shifted to the tall man standing on the other side of the bridge. Green eyes met and locked with their darker twins and he shivered. Something ugly and cold slithered beneath his skin and he shivered. "How could I know that?" He asked, trying to look away but not able. "It hasn't even happened yet..."

"Do you remember kidnaping Kao and Quii at the dance?" Kenshin's voice was hard. "Do you remember dumping them in that storage pit underneath the lighthouse? Do you?"

"I... Oh God," Hiko covered his eyes with a shaking hand. "I did do that, didn't I?" Images of the tear streaked pale faces flashed in his mind and his breath caught in his throat. "I took them so you'd come... I took them... Oh Jesus... it was Daniel, he was there, in my head. Oh God..."

"Remember the duel, the swords... you never held a sword a day in your life, Hiko, yet you fought me like you'd been swinging steel for 20 years."

"No..."

"He was there with you. He's always been with you, and he knew me the moment he laid eyes on me whether you realized it or not. Why do you think you hated me so much? How did I know instinctively you were bad? We already knew each other, dammit!"

"Merciful heavens..." Hiko fell to his knees, the revolver pressed into the ground beneath his hand, his head hanging low.

"Now tell me what happened to Elliot, Hiko. What did Daniel do to him when he found out he'd helped Eddy and Sandra, because he did find out, didn't he?"

"Yesss," A violent shudder quaked through the large body, and Hiko Seiguro gasped for breath. "Don't make me... I can't..."

"Tell me," Kenshin warily approached the prostrate man. "Get it out. It's the last sin to be purged. The last secret, old man. Vomit it up and be done with it."

Another tremor shook the muscular frame and then Hiko did, literally, vomit a large gout of undigested food, the force of the expulsion arching nearly three feet from him. Retching twice more, he emptied his stomach of everything Daniel ate for breakfast and then some, leaving him shaking and sweaty. Then suddenly he fell over onto his side, rolled to his back, and raised the revolver, pointing it at Kenshin's chest. On the other side of the river, Kaoru began to scream.

"You want to know what happened, you little fuck, fine. I'll tell you, but it's not pretty so don't say you weren't warned."

"Okay, I won't say that." Kenshin's eyes shimmered and shifted, fading to a smoldering gold. "Just get on with it already."

"Love to." The shadow of Daniel's smile sifted across Hiko's face as his eyes flickered with malicious glee. "I see you were stupid enough to bring HER with you again." He scoffed, rising to a sitting position. "It seems you never will learn, will you?"

"Leave her out of it." Kenshin's voice dipped an octave and the Angel-wolf flexed his muscles, rippling just beneath the surface. "She is no concern of yours. She never was and never will be. Now stop stalling. You have a confession to tell. Let's get it over with before we all die of old age."

"You've grown impatient since our last meeting, brat. That's not like you. Always so cold and calculating. What happened to you? These tight-assed colonials get to you?" An evil chuckle oozed out of the corner of Hiko's mouth as he cocked his head. "I always wondered what it would take to rattle that crystal veneer."

"You ain't seen nothing yet, old man." Kenshin snarled, wondering where the contrite and self depreciating Hiko had disappeared to. "But if you don't start spilling your guts, you're going to find out."

"Fine," Hiko pushed himself to his feet, keeping the pistol carefully trained on his step-son's chest. "Like I told you, it isn't a pretty story, so just remember, you're the one who wanted to hear it."

"I'm still waiting," he replied, folding his arms across his chest. "And all you're doing is blowing smoke. Get on with it." Amber eyes narrowed at the evil mirth dancing inside the emerald orbs. "And see if you can find the balls to stop letting Daniel feed on your emotions. Personally, I think you're a better man than he could ever hope to be. For once in your life, why don't you prove it. Shut him out of this conversation. Stop letting him take over. You're stronger than this."

"Shut-up," Hiko snapped, darting a warning look toward the Reverend, who was still kneeling in the grass, his eyes wide with shock and bewilderment. "If you keep pushing me, I'll- I'll..."

"Just spill it, for God's sake! You've stalled long enough." The Angel-Wolf barked, impatience and the hint of a threat slicing through his voice. "If you want to test _our _limits any further, old man, go ahead, but I wouldn't suggest it. This fucking game you and Daniel are playing is over. Now play _Tweety-bird _and start singing, or I'm going to be _Sylvester _and I'm gonna eat your sorry ass. Got it!"

"Fine. Hope you got a handkerchief." Daniel/Hiko sneered, dropping the pistol on the ground and leaning nonchalantly against a three, his hands in his pockets. "It's a real tear-jerker."

"I'll bet, and you're loving it, you sick asshole." The Angel-Wolf spat on the ground and carefully placed himself between the now grinning Hiko/Daniel entity and the Reverend. "Now talk."

'_They're gone... together. Those bloody... how could she leave me for that whiney weakling?' Daniel grabbed the bottle of whiskey he'd been drinking and flung it violently against the wall. It shattered on impact, the last of the amber liquid splattering over the ivory stucco, the short chest of drawers, and across the wood flooring. Glass fragments glittered like brown raindrops in the sunlight for a breath's second, and then clattered to the floor in tiny razor sharp shards and larger scoop shaped sections. It was a wet, bloody trap just waiting for a pair of unsuspecting bare feet._

_Elliot insisted he go with him to the building site that morning, taking no refusal. He kept saying it was Daniel's place as Reverend to oversee the new church construction, and he yet to step foot on the site. The mealy mouthed little ass manipulated him with the respect of the parishioners, that they needed to see him showing the proper interest in the building of their new church so they would know he truly intended to be their spiritual leader. That made Daniel furious enough to saddle Tarkin and follow Elliot out to the building site. There he spent over three hours touring the progress and speaking with every worker, Elliot at his side introducing him to even the most insignificant brick carrier. _

_Finally he'd had enough, made his polite excuses, and left. When he returned to the rectory, Cassandra was gone. At first, he thought she might just be at the market, but the longer he waited for her to return, the more he started to suspect something was amiss._

_A quick inspection of the kitchen proved there were no preparations for dinner, and no laundry hung drying in the breeze. Unease and fear tweaked his insides and he climbed the stairs to their room. Once inside, he quickly checked her clothes in the armoire. Three of her dresses were missing, her under garments, both pairs of her shoes, and her stockings. Her vanity revealed that her brush and comb were gone as well as her hairpins and combs. But her wedding ring was laying in the middle of the dish where she kept her jewelry. That was one thing she hadn't taken with her._

_Three years they lived together as man and wife. Three years._

_Daniel seethed with unrighteous fury. In his mind he could see them. That spineless school master, with his red hair and girly eyes, talking all close and quiet the way they did every Sunday after church service. Their heads bent close like they couldn't hear, and then her soft laughter would float up on the morning breeze, burning his ears like hellfire. It wasn't proper they way they were acting. It was downright scandalous. _

_Months ago he tried to put an end to it, but all that happened was Cassandra informing him that she and the school master were discussing the children in the Parish. It seemed he was having difficulties with several of the Merchants children, and had turned to her, as the Reverend's wife, for advice on disciplining the little trouble makers. So, unless this was a problem Daniel wanted to handle himself, which she didn't think it was, he could stop behaving like a jealous fool and leave her to her own work and service within the Parish. He was stunned to silence and forced to accept her explanation. His own investigation of the circumstance revealed that she was telling the truth, and he was humiliated into admitting he was wrong. Two bottles of whiskey later, he beat her unconscious and raped her limp body, leaving her bloody and bruised in their bed, while he passed out in the rectory. She knew better than making him admit he was wrong._

_He'd been forced to tell the Parish that Cassandra was taken ill for the next two weeks while she recovered. Her black eyes and bruised lips just couldn't be seen in public. Everyone was so worried and all of the ladies wanted to bring food and comfort to her. Daniel was kind but firm, saying he could take care of her well enough, but their words would be a great comfort to her. The school master, however, was more persistent. Everyday he asked about Cassandra's welfare to the point Daniel became angry._

"_Why is it such a great concern to you, Master Fetlock?" He growled. "Me wife is taken to her bed with the woman's illness. I'm caring for her as best I can. She's getting stronger every day and should soon be up and about. What more are you looking to know?"_

"_She's a very important woman to our Parish, Reverend March." Violet eyes turned crystal hard. "She is a great help to me at the school. I miss her sage advice, that I do. Is it wrong to be concerned for a helpmete and a friend?"_

"_Nay," Daniel bit his tongue. "But see that ye remember she's another man's wife."_

"_Aye. That is something I can't forget." Edmond's voice was low. "Please give her my best regards, Reverend. She's in my prayers."_

_Those words had burned in Daniel's mind for days after. Something was amiss. He knew it, but there was no proof. Until today. He knew they were gone together. He could feel it in his bones, but how..._

"_Elliot!" His eyes flared with hatred. "You bleedin' bastard." He snarled, slamming his fist into the top of the oak vanity, sending everything on it jumping and clattering wildly. "You took me out to the church site on purpose, and you kept me there as long as you could so they'd have time to leave. Ye betrayed me, little brother! Ye betrayed me!"_

_He thundered down the stairs, rifled through the linen closet, grunted when he found what he was looking for, and then disappeared out the door. Tarkin was still tied up out front and he grabbed the reins and mounted the horse, yanking him back in the direction of the building site._

"_HEEYAH!" He shouted, kicking the black's sensitive flanks, sending him into a frantic gallop that had the tails of his over coat flapping wildly in the wind. 'You're going to pay for this, brother.' He thought, gritting his teeth and leaning down over the horse's neck. 'You're going to pay dearly.'_

_Fifteen minutes later, Daniel was back at the new church, searching for his brother, but Elliot was no where to be seen. A quick barrage of questions to one of the framers and he had his answer. Elliot was on his way to the dock in Clareville, ten miles away. It seemed he had business there. Daniel politely thanked the man, turned Tarkin in the direction of Clareville, and took off._

'_You bastard,' he raged to himself, as he urged the horse to run faster. 'Is that where they are? Clareville? Catching the steamboat? Well, we'll just see about that.'_

_But Daniel didn't make it to Clareville before the boat left. Elliot was waiting for him on the road. It was as if the younger man knew he was going to have to give up his life in order to see Cassandra away from the beast that was his brother, and when he lured him out to the church site that morning so they could slip away, he made that choice. _

_Elliot knew it wouldn't take Daniel long to figure out what happened and who Cassandra was with. He'd suspected something between her and Edmond for months. He also knew that he would come right back out to the church site to confront him in front of all those men. He wouldn't let that happen, not to Sandra's good name. So, he fed the story about going to Clareville on business to his framer and rode up the road to wait for his brother, and the end that would give Edmond the last inch of time he needed to get Sandra on the stage and away from this place._

_Daniel spotted his brother's horse tied to tree a few yards off the road and slowed his horse to a walk, looking around suspiciously. He'd never pegged Elliot for one to lay in wait, but then, he'd never believed his brother capable of doing what he'd done so far either. Pulling Tarkin to a stop, he stepped down and tied the animal to a low branch, his eyes searching the area for any sign of his brother, but finding nothing. A wary finger of uneasiness walked up his spine as he left the road and walked toward the other horse._

"_Elliot?" He called, only half expecting the coward to answer him, and nearly jumped out of his own skin when the tall, slim man appeared from behind a tree just beyond where he'd tied his horse. He was wearing his heavy black overcoat, and his hands were tucked into the deep pockets. The long tails shifted in the breeze and he suddenly looked more like a giant Raven than a man. Daniel shivered at the image._

"_What are ye doing here, Daniel?" The voice was low, sharp, and without its usual smooth tone of respect. "I didn't realize I required your permission to leave town."_

"_You shouldn't lie, brother." Daniel walked around the horses hind quarters, a gentle hand on the deadly muscles, letting it know he was there. "It doesn't suit you, and yer no good at it."_

"_Really? You think I'm lyin'?"_

"_I know yer lyin'." Daniel eyed his brother with distrust. He was acting strange and it was making him more than just a little uncomfortable. This wasn't the Elliot he knew. This was a Raven of ill will, and the idea of a bad Omen slithered through Daniel's mind. "Where are they?"_

"_They?" Elliot gave Daniel a blank look, and spread his feet. "Would you care to extrapolate on who 'they' are. I'm afraid I don't follow."_

"_I'm not playin' games with ye, Elliot, so stop this. Just tell me where they are, and maybe I'll leave you alive."_

_A tight, harsh laugh echoed through the trees as Elliot tossed his head back, one hand covering his forehead. "You'll leave me alive?" He mocked, revealing his true feelings for his brother at last. "You started conjuring the story for my death the moment you left the rectory to come back after me. I may be a fool to have ever believed you incapable of evils I've suspected, but don't take me for a fool now. Just tell me one thing," his eyes turned hard as glass and his lips pealed back in a snarl of hatred. "Did Father really fall to his death that day?"_

"_What do you think?" Daniel reached inside his coat and pulled the sword loose of its sheath. The steel gleamed in the midmorning light as he swept it slowly in front of him._

_Elliot nodded his head and pulled a deep breath into his lungs. "I didn't want to believe it... but I think I always knew. I think I always did." A tremor slipped through his last words and he stopped talking for a few moments, gathering his wits. "What happened to you?" He asked, shifting his gaze to the taut features. "Just exactly when did you sell your soul to the Devil? Was it before or after you laid eyes on Cassandra? Or was she just another means to an end in your neverending plan for power and control of this Parish? Do ye even love 'er, man?"_

"_Aye, I love her." Daniel's soul shivered and crept into the darkness of his mind, hiding from the painful accusations. "Now, tell me where they are, Elliot. How much farther ahead of me are they? Which boat are they catchin'? Where are they goin'?"_

_Elliot lowered his gaze, looked at the sword in his brother's hand, and started to laugh, low and soft. "You're too late, brother." He whispered just loud enough for Daniel to hear. "And yer on the wrong road."_

"_Eh? What's that?"_

"_They aren't goin' to Clareville to catch the boat." More low laughter bubbled out of his throat. "But it was a good story to get you as far away from them so they could get away without you catching them."_

"_They're not in Clarevi..." Daniel exploded with rage, leaping across the space that separated him from the laughing Raven. The sword underhand, back, and then arched down in his rage, catching Elliot just above his left elbow. Speed, power, and fury carried the razor edge through the heavy material of the overcoat, the clothing beneath, and then it bit into the fragile flesh to the bone, severing the extremity with hardly a nick on the blade._

_Elliot screamed and fell to his knees, clutching his mutilated arm, blood flowed freely over his hand and onto his clothes. He knew it was going to be a hard death and offered a fervent prayer for strength. 'Dearest God, let me die well. Save Sandra and Edmond...'_

"_Where are they, you bloody bastard!" Daniel screamed, into Elliot's pale, pain_

_stricken face. "Tell me and I'll do it fast... tell me, damn you! Where are they?"_

"_Far from you," Elliot rasped, smiling into the crazed insanity of his brother's emerald eyes. "You'll never find them... never. Edmond will hide her and you'll never touch her again. Never..." A muffled cry of agony spilt over his lips as Daniel grabbed his wounded arm and yanked, sending a fresh stream of blood into the grass. _

"_Tell me, or I swear I'll cut you to pieces, Elliot."_

"_Cut away." He replied in a tight voice. "It doesn't matter what you do to me, Daniel. As long as he keeps her away from you, then I can end my life a happy man."_

_Daniel gave a vicious snarl and grabbed a fistful of the hair on top of his brother's head, pulling him upright. "You will tell me," he rasped, raising the sword and laying it flat to Elliot's scalp. "And then you'll beg me to kill you."_

"_No..." But Elliot's denial was cut off as his screams filled the woods again. Blood spurted beneath the edge of the blade and poured down the sides of his head, into his eyes, and over his face as Daniel sawed his scalp loose and ripped it free, dropping it in his lap. Glazed eyes blurred with blood and tears looked down and tried to focus on the bloody mass of black hair, but Elliot couldn't really see anything. The pain engulfing his body was more than anything he could have imagined. "Yer an animal..." he rasped, tremors of shock quaking through his body. "A demon's spawn and one day, God's wrath will reach out and strike you down."_

"_Mayhaps," Daniel replied, looking at the grotesque portrait the Raven made now. "But not today. Now, tell me what I want to know, and I'll end your misery. Tell me where they are, Elliot. What road?"_

"_Dearest Lord in Heaven," Elliot March raised his ravaged face to the sky and blinked at the brightness of the sun. "Receive my soul, for I have tried to be a good and righteous man, and I have laid down my life for the woman I love that she might be free of the unholy dominion of her husband, this unrighteous murderer, who is my own flesh and blood. I would beg for his forgiveness and your tender mercies, but he is unworthy of such things. I beg only that I may come home to your side, and embrace my father and lady mother again. Blessed Lord, bring me home... and give flight to hooves of those holy steeds that carry the most precious jewel of my heart..."_

"_Bastard!" Daniel screamed, swinging his sword in a waist high flat line, he slashed a deep cut across his brother's exposed throat, severing both carotids and jugulars, laying the flesh open to the shiny vertebra of his neck. But Elliot was already dead and the last insult of pain was not his to bear. Unfortunately, his dying brain had given Daniel just enough of a clue as to the whereabouts of Edmond and Cassandra that he found them within the year._

_The dead and dismembered body of Elliot March was found only a few short days after his tragic murder. At first it was believed that Indian's had ambushed the young carpenter, but the severed arm was not indicative of a native attack, and the town was forced to come to the conclusion the young man had been killed by his own brother-their beloved Reverend. When Daniel March, his wife, Cassandra, and the School Master all came up missing at the same time, rumors started to fly. Nathaniel O'Massy demanded the authorities investigate the Rectory. There they found evidence of Cassandra's years of torment, Daniel's drunkenness, and a tiny grave under a tree in the back with dried flowers lovingly draped over it. _

_Cassandra's diary was given to her parents, and the whole story became public knowledge. Daniel March's days were numbered. He was wanted for the murder of his own brother, and possibly the murder of his own father, and when he wandered back into town some eighteen months after leaving, a lynch mob was waiting for him._

_It seems none of his dreams quite came true, and justice was a little late._

Across the river, Kaoru was sobbing hysterically. Elliot/Aoshi had collapsed to his knees, vomiting in the grass, and Soujiro was pale, breathing heavily with a trembling hand over his mouth. The Angel-Wolf was silent, his head bent almost to his chest. His own breathing was harsh, his knuckles white where they gripped his upper arms.

"You sick fuck." He choked. "He was your brother, for God's sake."

"He betrayed me," was the low, growling reply.

"He didn't deserve that. No one does."

"In the end, he still told me where they were. That's all that matters. I got what I wanted."

"Yeah, and they strung you up for it, so you ended up with nothing."

"I made all of you pay for making a fool of me... it was worth it."

"No..." The Reverend's voice was hollow and filled with anguished remorse. "It can't happen that way. It can't. I can't let it."

"And what are you going to do about it, old man?" Hiko/Daniel scoffed. "Preach me to death?"

"No, I'm going to do what has to be done, Daniel. I'm the only one who can." Maxwell March struggled to his feet, grabbed the Angel-Wolf by the shoulder and moved him out of the way. "This is my duty, young Master. I believe without a doubt that you are _The Judge, _but this is my task. I brought the demon into the world, I must take him out."

"Wha...?" But before the Angel-Wolf could utter another sound or quite fathom what the Reverend meant, the old man dove to the ground, scooped up the loaded and cocked pistol, and turned it on his eldest son. "God help me," he cried, leveling it at Hiko/Daniel's chest, gripping the butt with both hands. "I love you, Daniel." Tears streamed down his face. "Forgive me."

"Father, no...!"

_BBAAANGG!_

Blood blossomed across the front of Hiko/Daniel's crisp white shirt, and he was flung back hard against the tree. A loud grunt of pain and surprise erupted from him and he crumpled to the ground, his hand clawing at the wound. The Reverend was a good shot, the ball entered his son's chest just below and slightly right of his left collar bone. It had to have torn part of the aorta the way he was bleeding out. Ragged breaths, ashen skin, and a sudden sweat proved the man didn't have long to live.

"Y-you shot m-me..." Bewildered green eyes looked into the Reverend's pained face. "You-you killed me."

"Aye, I did, God, forgive me." The pistol fell to the ground, smoke curling out of the barrel. "I couldn't let you live, don't you see that. In order to save your eternal soul, I had to end your life before you could destroy yourself and all of us with you."

"But, I-I haven't done anything..."

"Nay, but you will, you will..." Reverend March hung his head, listening to the ragged breathing as his son drew his last breathes, and then the air grew silent.

Daniel March was dead.

Kenshin's soul clawed and struggled to the surface of the Angel-Wolf's consciousness, and he moved slowly to the fallen man's side, kneeling on the ground next to him. "Why, Hiko?" He whispered, tenderly fingering the bloody shirt, his throat constricted with emotion. "Why did you give in and let him take control again? You almost had him... you almost..." He hung his head as quiet sobs shook his shoulders. '_It wasn't supposed to happen this way.' _As much as he'd wanted to kill this man himself, suddenly he wished everything could have turned out differently. Rage and grief surged through his blood and he gripped the front of Hiko's blood soaked shirt in tight, furious fists. "It wasn't supposed to end like this!" He cried, yanking the body up away from the tree, the head dropping limply to the back. "You weren't supposed to die, you son-of-a-bitch. We were supposed to save you. You were supposed to come back into the light with us... why didn't you listen to me? Why? Whyyyy! I saw the regret in your eyes... it was real. Damn you, it was real." Kenshin sobbed and clutched the body close to his chest, burying his face in the still warm neck, feeling the silky black hair brush his cheek. "Dad... why didn't you come back? We could have fixed everything. We could have made it work... we could have... Dad..."

Just as it had before, the white light rushed across the ground, engulfing all of the players, swallowing them, separating the past from the future, and spiriting that which was foreign back to its origins. The blood of the innocent was spared, and the twist of time and fate that had been pushed out of sync was made right again. Once more the passage of the world flowed like silk and water, and the distant cry of a newborn baby echoed along the misty tendrils of the past as it slipped away.

The future was no longer written, but love would always find a way, and kindred hearts can not be kept apart-not even by the passage of time. Fate has a way of bringing those who love the most back together, over and over and over...

When an Arch Angel can find forgiveness in its heart for the meanest of offenses, anything is possible, even second chances for the darkest and foulest of souls. It is one of the most precious gifts God has to offer his fierce warriors, but it is never given easily nor without a weighty price. There are reasons Arch Angels wings are stained in blood.

TBC

I cried writing this chapter... more than once. I hate it when I make myself cry, but I hated killing Elliot. It was one of the last loop holes I had to tie up and it had to be bad. I had to save Daniel and Hiko too. Sorry it was so bloody. Only the Epilogue is left. I love you all. God Bless. Tsuki


	32. Epilogue

A/N:Hello my darlings... yes, it's here... it's all over. This is the end of my greatest triumph. Enjoy. Much of my life and pain have been written in the pages of this story.

Tsuki-san

Epilogue

"Kenshin? Are you almost ready? Soujiro and his Father are going to be here any minute to pick us up." Dharma poked her head inside her son's room in time to see him yank the bow tie off and throw it on the floor. "Having problems?" She asked, walking over to him, retrieving the tie and looking at his frustrated reflection in the mirror.

"What's your first clue?" He muttered.

"Here," she pulled him around to face her. "Let me help. I've tied a few of these in my day. Your father was hopeless at it too." She laughed and threaded the red satin through the stiff white collar, tipping Kenshin's chin up, and fashioning a perfect bow out of the stubborn material. "There, perfect."

"Thanks, Mom." Kenshin sighed with relief, looking at himself. "I just don't know how you do that." He blushed and kissed her cheek. "Do I look alright?" He asked, stepping back and spreading his arms. The black tuxedo he wore fit well across his shoulders, and his trim hips. The bright red cummerbund around his waist matching the tie and adding a splash of color.

"I think you're gorgeous." Dharma replied, kissing his cheek. "You look more and more like your father all the time."

"Do I?" He wished he could remember the tall, slender man who died when he was so little better than he did. "I wish he was here today."

"He is, sweetheart, he is."

"You think so?"

"His only son is getting married... are you kidding?" Dharma hugged Kenshin and tried not to cry. "There is no way in the world Ishida would miss this. You bet your hair he's here." The two red-heads shared a chuckle and the doorbell rang. "There's Hiko and Soujiro. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Kenshin took a deep breath and checked his reflection one more time. "You think she'll still have me, Mom? I mean, you don't think she's gonna get cold feet, do you?"

"Kenshin!" Dharma grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the room and down the stairs. "Stop talking like that. Kaoru loves you and you know it. If anyone is going to get cold feet, it's usually the groom."

"Well, I don't have cold feet." He blustered, answering the front door. "I want to get married."

"I hope so, buddy, 'cause we got exactly twenty minutes to get your peacock-ass to the church before that girl sends the troops out looking for you." Soujiro was grinning as he leaned against the doorframe, Kenshin's boot-n-ear in his hand. "Don't you look just about pretty enough to be the bride yourself."

"Shut-up, pretty boy." Kenshin growled, glaring at his soon-to-be step-brother. "You look just about the same, so you got no room to talk."

"Hey, I'm not the one that got stuck wearing the 'Santa Clause' tie, big man... at least I'm respectable all in black..." His words trailed off into laughter as he sauntered over to Kenshin and handed him his rose and carnation. "Think you can pin this on yourself, or do you need help?"

"Go to hell..."

"Hiko?" Dharma sent an entreating look toward her grinning fiancé'. "Do something."

"And what would that be, Love?" He chuckled, moving to her side and wrapping both arms around her waist, snuggling her close to his chest. "Referee?" She giggled and burrowed into his neck. "They've been best friends since they were six years old. Do you think there is anything I can do or say that is going to make a difference now?"

"Well... no, I guess not." Her hand stole up into his thick, silky black hair and combed absently through the length of it. "Do you think making them brothers, is such a good idea?"

"Can you think of a worse idea?" He nuzzled her nose and kissed her cheek. "We've never been able to keep them apart as it is. They need each other, Dharma. When Ishida died and Sou's Mother left... they glombed onto each other like lost puppies. I think they're already brothers, we're just making it legal after all these years. Besides, you know they're never serious when they argue... don't you?"

"Yes, I suppose I do." She laughed. "Just sometimes..."

"I know. They can sound... vicious?"

"Exactly." They laughed together. "I guess it's alright. I'm just nervous. My baby's getting married, Hiko. I never thought it would happen. He's had such a hard time with girls... he just couldn't seem to stay with anyone. At least not until Kaoru came along, and then it was like lightening struck him. He was finished looking and there was no question in his mind he wanted her. I've never seen anything like it... except in the movies."

"They're meant to be, Dharma." Hiko released his beloved and looked at their two sons; one was dark haired with gray-blue eyes, the other with hair of flaming red and eyes like amethyst. _'Kenshin...' _He thought. _'Somehow everything works out the way it's supposed to, doesn't it, bud?' _

"Hey, come on, Dad." Soujiro waved to his Father with a grin. "We're gonna be late getting Prince Charming here to the alter if we don't leave now."

"You got the rings?" Hiko reached in his pocket for the car keys. "Better make sure you got those, Mr. Best Man, or this wedding going to be one of the shortest in history."

Soujiro pulled the jewelers box out of the inside pocket of his suit coat, opened it, and showed everyone the wedding rings inside. A wide band of gold with a large amethyst chip set in the center for Kenshin, and thinner gold band with four tiny diamonds across the top that matched Kaoru's engagement ring; a three-quarter karat diamond set in a plain gold band. "I got 'em. Now can we please go. I told that girl I'd have him there on time. If I don't, she's gonna castrate me."

"Reaally?" Kenshin raised one eyebrow with a gleam in his eyes. "It'd almost be worth it to be late..."

"Get your red-satin ass in the car, big brother, before I do something she's gonna hate me for."

"Should I be scared?"

"You won't be consummating your marriage...what do you think?"

"Ouch!" Kenshin scowled at Soujiro, stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked out to the car. "Asshole," he muttered. "You'd do it too."

"Damn straight."

"Hiko..." Dharma was covering her ears and giving him that look again. He just laughed, shrugged, and pulled the door shut. "You aren't going to do anything, are you?"

"Nope. Get in the car, Love. It's almost over."

The black mercedes was sleek and shimmered like a phantom as it swept beneath the street lights, past convenience stores and gas stations, and Ivy Payne High School on it's way to the church. The streets of Evermore seemed to be practically deserted and when Hiko turned the corner the church was on, it looked like almost every car in town was parked in the parking lot or crowded somewhere along the street.

"Sheesh," Kenshin exclaimed. "What did she do? Invite the whole friggin' town?"

"'course, what did you think she was going to do to, stupid?"

"Shut-up! I thought she said a nice 'cozy' wedding."

"This is cozy, just you, her, and 50,000 of your closest friends." Soujirou laughed when Kenshin growled and snarled at him to keep his opinions to himself, but he had to agree, it did look like Kaoru had gone a little overboard with the invitations. There had to be more than two thousand people crammed into the small, white building. He wasn't even sure how they all fit in there.

"Now, now, Kenshin." Hiko tried to calm the blustering red-head. "A girl only gets married once... usually." He laughed when he caught the scowl in his rearview mirror. "Give her a break if she got a little... um, over zealous, shall we say."

"Over zealous?" Kenshin spluttered. "You call this 'over zealous'? She must have went straight through the phonebook and sent an invitation to everybody..."

"Now, Kenshin," Hiko chided him gently. "Calm down. You know that's not true. Her father owns the best restaurant in town. Everyone knows who she is... she's been waiting tables in there since she was fourteen. Of course half the town or better is going to want to come and see her get hitched... plus, she's getting hitched to you."

"So what? What does that have to do with anything?"

Soujirou rolled his eyes. "You really are stupid, aren't you." He said. "You, you big dummy. The Karate Nationals Champion, four years running. You're like the pride of the whole town. Master Saitou says you're the best fighter he ever trained, and takes full responsibility for your abilities... or you didn't know that?"

"I knew that. Master has been pounding his teaching into my head for so long, I hear it in my sleep..."

"Well, you and Kaoru are the perfect couple. The fucking Prince and Princess of the whole town, Kenshin. For three years you hardly look at each other, and then BAM! You can't keep your hands off each other, and now you're getting married two months after graduation... all I can say is, what a year, man!"

"Yeah, I'll agree with you there." Kenshin smiled for the first time since they left the house, and a dry laugh slipped over his lips. "One of the best I can remember. But you know... I can't help feeling like there's something missing, you know? It's weird."

"I don't know what could be missing, honey." Dharma looked back and smiled. "You've pretty much covered everything, don't you think?"

"I guess, but it just feels like there should be someone else here... I don't know. I said it was weird." He shrugged and got out of the car as Hiko pulled the emergency brake and turned off the engine. "Well, here I am." He announced. "Should I make a break for it while I still have a chance?" A wicked grin split his face as he shot a look at his brother. "What do ya think?"

"I think she'd set a pack of ravening wolves on you if you did... that's what I think."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He laughed and dropped an arm across Sou's shoulders. "Come on, walk me in. My knees are starting to shake."

"Bullshit!" Sou howled, wrapping his arm around Kenshin's waist. "That'll be the day. I never saw a man who wanted to get married as bad as you... I'm surprised I don't have to sit on you to keep you from floating in." The two of them burst into loud laughter as they walked through the side door of the church and disappeared.

"Dharma?"

"Hmm?" She turned to look at Hiko, who was still leaning against his car.

"You know, he's right."

"About what, honey?"

"There is someone missing." A wrinkle of confusion passed over his face and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Strange... I can't put my finger on it, but I can feel what he's talking about. I don't understand it, but I feel it."

"Are you alright?" She asked, walking to him and touching his face. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," he replied, kissing her palm. "Let's go inside. Better make sure those two don't get into any trouble." He took her hand in his and led her away from the car, but he was still unable to shake the feeling that there was someone very important missing from their group. It was a disturbing feeling.

"Mum, do you think he's here yet?" Kaoru was nervous and went over to look out the window for the millionth time in the last half hour. "I still don't see Mr. Seiguro's car."

"Kaoru, for heaven's sake, will you calm down and find a perch." Ayame Kamiya sighed, rolling her eyes at her hand-wringing daughter. "If you don't settle down, we're going to have to do your hair all over again." She eyed the smooth coif she'd wrapped the mass of black satin into, looking for loose pins. The way Kaoru was whipping her head around, it was a wonder any of them were still in place. "Kaoru!"

"Sorry, Mum." She looked sheepish and sat down on the stool in front of the vanity table. The brides room was simple but beautiful. Painted white walls were covered with colorful murals of cherubs and angels flying through the clouds. The carpet was a soft mauve that crushed beneath her feet, and the furniture was olde english with overstuffed pink cushions. The vanity had three mirrors and an arrangement of combs and brushes to help tame even the most stubborn hair into a beautiful arrangement, and there was a wide, full length mirror next to the window for the viewing of wedding dresses.

It had everything in it a bride could want... including a full view of the parking lot.

"I'm sure he's here already, sweetheart. The boy isn't going to miss his own wedding, for heaven's sake. Now calm yourself before you throw up again."

"I'm trying to, Mum... it's hard." Kaoru's big blue eyes wavered and turned shiny. She just couldn't seem to keep hold of her emotions the last couple of weeks. She cried at the drop of a hat or blew up over the tiniest of things. Her mom kept telling her it was just nerves over the wedding, but she wasn't so sure. Kaoru was scared to think about what it could be... she needed to talk to Kenshin... before the ceremony. She needed to talk to him now, bad luck or not... she needed to talk to him NOW.

"I have to go to the bathroom again, Mum."

"Kaoru! For God's sake..." Ayame shook her head. "I swear I don't know what's gotten into you."

"Nerves, you said it yourself."

"Why can't you use the bathroom in here?" She asked, as Kaoru headed for the door to the hallway.

"I...ah... it's too small. I get claustrophobic." She lied.

"Kaoru Kamiya! You've never been claustrophobic a day in your life."

"It's a new thing..." She shot over her shoulder as she ducked out the door and ran for the girl's bathroom on the other side of the building. _'Please let me see him.' _She hiked her dress up and raced along the hallway circling the chapel, her eyes darting through open doorways, looking for anywhere he and his brother might have gone to sit and wait for the start of the ceremony. _'Kenshin... where are you, dammit!'_

Then she caught a flash of red out of the corner of her eye and stopped. Kenshin and Sou were just walking in one of the side doors, arms around each other, laughing like a couple of hyenas. God, he looked sexy in his tux, and Kaoru's mouth went dry just seeing him. He was so perfect. She sagged against the wall and let her eyes savor the sight for a few seconds, and then she pushed away and ran toward him.

"Kenshin!" She yelled, making both men look in her direction, startled. "Kenshin, I need to talk to you."

"Kaoru, honey, what the hell are you doing?" He caught hold of her hands, looking into her face, his etched with worry. "Don't you know it's bad luck..."

"I know, I know, but I have to talk you... right now."

"Can't it wait..."

"No, it can't. I... I have to tell you something before the ceremony. I... you have to know this, it can't wait. Please... Kenshin," she pleaded with him, her eyes desperate. "Please?"

"Okay, but we gotta make it fast, alright?" He put his hand in the small of her back and led her down the hall to an empty room. "Sou, don't you dare tell my mom, she'll freak."

"You got it, brother. Jeez... your mom... what about my dad... Just hurry it up, okay? This is not a good idea, guys." Soujiro shot a worried glance over his shoulder to see where the parents were and then moved down the hall in the opposite direction. "You know where I'll be."

"Yeah, I'll be right there." Kenshin gently pushed Kaoru into a room and shut the door behind them. "Alright, what's a matter? What's got you so wound up that this can't wait until after the ceremony?"

"I..." Suddenly her tongue was frozen in her head and she couldn't make it do anything. "I..." Kaoru started to wring her hands in worry and frustration and walked to look out the window. "I... I think I'm pregnant." She said in small, frightened voice.

"You-your what?"

"I'm over a week late, and I've been throwing up a lot, and I cry all the time, and my boobs are really sore, and I have to pee like every two seconds, and... and... and I just feel different... and I wanted you to know before went in there in case you feel like you don't want to do this... I mean, I'm not going to trap you into a ready made family, Kenshin. That wouldn't be right... and I don't want to do that to you. It's not fair, and this was the only thing I could think of."

"You couldn't have told me sooner?" He asked, his voice quiet and more subdued than she'd ever heard it.

"I-I wasn't sure." She stammered. "Mum kept saying it was just nerves and I bought it... til the last couple of days. I don't think it's nerves... not anymore."

"I see," He moved behind her and his hands lifted to rest on her shoulders. She stiffened beneath his touch. "What are you more upset about, Tanuki? That you're pregnant, or that you think I won't stay?"

"I-I'm scared you won't stay." She admitted, terrified. "I love you so much, Kenshin, I'm scared to death you're going to leave."

"Hmmm," he leaned forward and pressed his cheek against her bare nape, kissed her shoulder, and then wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back into his body. "You're pregnant with MY baby," he said, tenderly. "Why in the hell would I want to leave you for that? Do I look crazy or stupid? Wait, don't answer that." There was a hint of laughter in his voice that made Kaoru giggle.

"So... you aren't mad?" She turned and rubbed her forehead against his temple.

"Mad? Noooooo, I'm not mad." He kissed her nose. "But I may turn you over my knee and beat the shit out of you for scaring the hell out of me."

"Scaring you?" She turned wide eyes on him. "How did I scare you?"

"Oh, let's see," He rubbed his chin. "Kenshin," he mimicked her in a high, falsetto voice. "I have to talk to you... it can't wait... if I don't tell you, I'm gonna die..."

"I didn't say that." She fumed, turning in his arms and punching him in the chest.

"You may as well have." He grinned. "The way you were talking, I thought you were trying to tell me you didn't want to get married or you wanted to post-pone or you didn't love me anymore or..."

"Not love you anymore?" She screeched. "Are you crazy?"

"Welllll, what would you think if you were me?" He leveled his lavender gaze at her and stroked her smooth cheek. "Truthfully, Kao? What would you have thought if I came running down the hall of the church right before our wedding saying 'I need to talk to you right now!'? eh?"

"Oh, well... um..." She blushed. "I didn't think of it like that." She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I'm sorry... all I could think about was you needed to know before we went through with this."

"Why?" He asked, stroking her back. "Why was it so important?"

"I thought you deserved the right to make the choice, Kenshin."

"Choice?"

"If you wanted to be a husband AND a father."

"Oh honey," he nuzzled her throat and kissed her skin. "How could you think I wouldn't want my own baby? Our baby?"

"It's a lot of responsibility, Kenshin. We weren't planning on that when you accepted the job at the lighthouse... plus, it's going to get in the way of your night classes at the college."

"Nothing is going to get in way of anything, Kaoru." He said, cupping her face so he could look into her eyes. "I love you, that's what matters. I love you and whatever is going to happen is going to happen. We take it as is comes."

"Oh Kenshin," She leaned into him and kissed his face. "I love you."

"You better, Tanuki." He mock growled, rubbing his nose against hers. "Because after this... you aren't allowed to do or say anything to upset me for at least 20 years. Got it?"

"Got it." She sniffled and smiled.

"Good. Now let's go. We're almost late for our own wedding."

_Five years Later_

Kenshin stood on the catwalk of the Somberman Lighthouse, his lavender eyes squinted as he scanned the horizon for the large shipping freighter his manifest said was due to be passing through. Rain pelted his yellow slicker, dripping off his hood, and running in rivulets down his cheeks. It was going to be a long night.

Sighing with frustration and worry, he turned and walked back inside the lamp room. The huge light was glaring off the refracting panes and blaring out into the night, shedding its beacon through the rain and fog that shrouded the water. Kenshin could see almost five miles out, and the water looked choppy. He hoped the crew was prepared for a rough ride. Crossing the room, he opened the door and made his way down the wrought iron, spiral stairs to the ground floor. It was cold inside the turret, and he stamped his feet, shaking the rain off and then hanging up his dripping slicker.

Back inside the living quarters, he checked the thermostat and raised it a few degrees. He didn't want Kaoru and Cleo freezing. A smile curved his lips as he crossed the entry way and headed for the kitchen. The aroma of 'something' cooking drifted on the cold air, and he wondered what his beloved was burning for dinner tonight.

"Papa!" A bouncing ball of red-hair and blue eyes bounded into Kenshin's arms, and he scooped the little girl up, swinging her high into the air. She giggled, throwing her arms wide so he could fly her around the room like a miniature airplane. "Fly me, Papa!" She pleaded between squeals of laughter. "Fly me!"

Kaoru turned away from the stove and grinned at her husbands antics with their daughter. They were a pair, she thought. Cleo was definitely her father's daughter. She wasn't afraid of anything. Her sense of adventure was only out matched by her father's desire to show her everything there was to see. Sometimes the two of them scared her to death.

"Kenshin, be careful!" She growled, when he swung Cleo particularly high. "Your going to make her sick doing that."

"Nah," He grinned at her and offered a very nonapologetic wink. "She's too tough to puke, aren't you, slugger?"

"Yeah, I won't puke, Mamma. I'm tough!"

"Kenshin!"

"Okay, okay... we'll slow down... a little." He brought Cleo a little closer to the floor, placating his steaming wife. God knew he didn't want to make her mad. He'd end up sleeping out in the rain if he did that. She might look like an Angel, but the woman had a mean streak fifty miles wide when she wanted to.

"Good, I don't feel like cleaning throw up off the rug."

"Yes, Ma'am." He winked at Cleo and swept her in a high round circle after her mother turned around. "Shhh," he admonished the little girl when she started to giggle. "Mamma will have my ass in a sling if you make too much noise." His smile was huge and full of love as he snuggled the warm little body close to his chest, and kissed her nose. "I love you, little girl." He whispered, nuzzling into her neck, nibbling and tickling her skin, making her squirm and laugh. "Let's go see what your mom made for dinner."

"It's burned..."

"Is not."

"Is so..."

"Is not..."

"Is... she burns everything."

"Cleo!" Kenshin tired to maintain a straight face but his lips twitched, giving him away. "That's not nice to say about Mamma. She tries."

"But it burns, Papa, and the kitchen always stinks." Cleo scrunched her nose. "I like it better when you cook."

"Fine, but I can't cook all the time..."

"How come?"

"I have to look after the lighthouse. That's my job."

"Oh," she bowed her head and considered that for a moment. "I guess we have to eat burned stuff on those nights then, huh?"

"Um, I guess." He was fast losing his battle with his laughter, but tried hard to keep it in check. "Come on, it can't be that bad. Mamma hasn't charcoaled anything for quite awhile. It's just scorched a little."

"Kenshin," Kaoru's voice brought him back to the reality that she was only standing a few feet away. "Have you heard anything from that freighter? Have they come within radio distance yet?"

"No," he replied, setting Cleo down on the floor. "I'm starting to get a little worried. They're two hours late. They should have sent their position coordinates by now."

"What did you say the Captain's name was?" She asked.

"Shinomori. Aoshi Shinomori."

"You know, that sounds so familiar. Do we know him?" Kaoru turned from the stove, a pan of stir-fried beef and vegetables in hand.

"I don't think so." Kenshin stepped out of her way, and reached for a hot pad to drop on the table for her to put the pan on. "But he's supposed to be the best Officer in this companies fleet, so... this is damn irregular. Makes me wonder if something bad has happened out there."

"Like what?" Kaoru asked, lifting Cleo into her chair. "What could happen to a big boat like that?"

"The way the waves are rolling, it might have bottomed out... split in half maybe. I don't know, but it shouldn't be this late." He glanced out the window at the down pour and walked over to his scanner, adjusting the frequency, making sure it was set to the right one. "Come on, Captain... talk to me."

He went back to the table and sat down. Dinner didn't look so bad. Only the bottom of the vegetables were tinged with black. She was getting better.

Waves crashed over the side of the freighters decks, washing across the flat planes and sloshing off the other side, rocking it violently side to side. Inside the crew of ten were being thrown across their cabins, while the Captain and his feisty first mate struggled to keep the vessel on course from the bridge.

"Hard to port!" Asohi shouted, pulling the wheel hard to the left while the young girl at the control panel worked the throttle and engine power. Together they fought their way through the monster waves pounding into the ship. "Sanosuke! Can you give me any more power out those bloody engines of yours?"

"I'm trying, sir!" Was the static reply over the radio. "But we're 'bout maxed out!"

"Give me everything you have left, dammit! We have to make Hackler's Point before we get pounded to pieces out here."

"Yes, sir."

"Dammit," Aoshi glanced at his navigation chart. "Are we still on course, Misao?"

"Aye," she nodded. "But were still more than ten miles out."

"Shit!" he cursed. "Can we make radio contact yet?"

"Don't know... with all this weather... maybe."

Kenshin sat at the kitchen counter, head in his hands. The freighter still hadn't radioed and another hour had passed. Something was definitely wrong.

"Zzzzttt...aay day m...ay day this is ... e _Max..ell's Pride, _can anyo... ear me? Mayday...day, this is..._Maxwell's... ide, _can anyone...me? Over Zzzzzzttt"

"Calling _Maxwell's Pride, _calling _Maxwell's Pride... _This is Hackler's Point, come in."

"...ackler's Poi... is thi...e lightkeep... over."

"Yes, this is the lightkeeper. You're late, Captain Shinomori. Where the hell are you? Over."

"...en miles...coast...oody storm walloping... can't see beak... over."

"You can't see the beacon?" Kenshin's head shot up and he looked toward the turret in alarm. _'Dear God, he's driving in the dark!' _"I'm on my way up... I'll boost the lamp. Do you understand? Over."

"...derstood. Over."

"On my way. Over." Kenshin leaped to his feet and raced out of the kitchen. He ran past a gaping Kaoru and flew to the turret door. Yanking it open, he dove inside and grabbed his slicker, hood and boots. In seconds he was dressed and flying up the stairwell to the lamproom.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru yelled after him as she grabbed her rain gear and followed him. "What's going on? Kenshin?"

"They're driving blind, Kao!" He shouted above the pounding rain, as he pulled the door open and disappeared.

"Oh my God," her heart jumped up into her throat and she scrambled up the stairs after her husband. "Tell me what to do." She said as she burst through the door.

"Hand me my tool box," he said, kneeling down to pull the base of the lamp open. "I need to boost the beam to maximum. The Captain says they're ten miles out, but they can't see the beacon... nothing, and they're getting pounded to shit by this storm. That's why they're so late... dammit! I can't reach the lever... shit, my hands are too wet."

"Here, let me try," Kaoru nudged him out of the way and reached inside the cramped box, feeling around for the slim oval shaped lever that increased the lamps wattage output. "I...think... I... there, I got it." She grunted softly and pulled down. Suddenly the room was turned into a blinding cacophony of white light. "OWWWWE!"

"Cover your eyes, dummy." Kenshin growled, pulling her into the shelter of his shoulder. "You'll lose your sight looking at it straight on like that. Jesus, don't you ever listen to the stuff I tell you?"

"Don't you yell at me, Mr. Tough butt," she whimpered. "I pulled your wretched lever, didn't I?"

"Yes," stroked her back and then helped her stand up. "But you know you're supposed to be more careful... I just don't want you to get hurt, and you know it. Come on." He pulled her through the outside door and they walked onto the catwalk."

"God, I hate it out here on this thing," Kaoru shivered and hugged the wall. "It gives me the creeps."

"I know, I'm sorry, baby, but I got to be out here."

"It's okay... I'm okay."

"You sure?" He put his arm around her and hugged her close. "Maybe you should go back inside... see if Cleo's alright."

"She's asleep. She's fine. I told you I'm okay." Her chin turned stubborn and he knew she wasn't budging.

"Alright." He said. "But if you get freaked, you back inside, okay?"

"Okay."

Kenshin pulled the radio scanner out of his pocket and adjusted the nobs. Then he put it to his mouth and shouted into the speaker. "Calling _Maxwell's Pride, _Calling _Maxwell's Pride... _Captain Shinomori, are you there, sir? Over."

"Zzztt... Aye, Lightkeeper. I'm here. Over."

"Hey, the receptions better. I can hear you. Over."

"You can thank my first mate for that. She found a way to clean up the signal by washing it through the sonar computer. Smart girl, that. Over."

"Couldn't have done better myself, sir." Kenshin smiled. "Is everyone alright? Over."

"Aye, a little battered and bruised from the shaking we're getting out here, but nothing serious at the moment. Looking forward to a warm bed and a shower... not necessarily in that order, mind you. Over."

"Aye, we have both, Captain. How many bunks do you need? Over."

"Eleven. Luckily, me first mate also happens to be my wife." Kenshin grinned at the deep chuckle that crackled over the radio. "Makes for convenient cabin assignments. Over."

"Aye, that it would." Kenshin laughed and traded a smile with Kaoru. He liked this captain. "Tell me, sir, can you see the light? It should be off your starboard bow, about 40 degrees. Over."

"Forty degrees, you say..." there was a pause, and Kenshin waited, the rain slipping relentlessly off his hood. "Ahhh, there you are... forty-three degrees to be exact. Looks inviting, that it does. Over."

Kenshin sighed with relief. "You see the light... Praise the Lord. How long for you to reach the dock? Over."

"Now that I can see where I'm goin', about 30 minutes in this rain. Over."

"We'll be ready for you. Over."

"Thank you, Lightkeeper. Out."

"Thank you, Kaoru." Kenshin turned to his wife and pulled her into his arms. "You saved them tonight, Tanuki. Not me. This time it was all you."

"Kenshin, I didn't do anything but pull a silly lever."

"You put the light on the water and gave that ship a beacon to follow home, Kao. You were their Angel in the dark. Remember that, because that's what these lighthouses are. Angels in the night."

The knock sounded on the back door, and Kenshin moved to open the heavy wood panel. On the doorstep he met the icy blue eyes of a tall, slender man with inky black hair. "You must be Captain Shinomori," he said, extending his hand in greeting. "It's nice to see you... in one piece."

"Indeed," Aoshi took the offered hand of the shorter red-haired man with a smile and entered the warmth of the guest quarters. "I thank you for your hospitality, Mr... what the hell is your name anyway?" He laughed and pulled his knit cap off, letting the mop of his black hair cascade over his shoulders. "I can't see me calling you 'lightkeeper' now that I'm standing in your home."

"I suppose not," Kenshin laughed. "Himura, Kenshin Himura."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Himura. This is my wife, Misao, and my chief engineer, Sanosuke Sagara."

"Hello," Kenshin shook hands with a spunky, beautiful brunette who was no taller than his shoulder, then a towering man with sparkling brown eyes and a messy tangle of dark brown hair. "It's my pleasure to have you all here. You gave my wife and I quite a scare. I was starting to think you'd bottomed out somewhere..."

"Not this time," Aoshi scratched his head and grinned. "Leaving that for Misao when she gets her Captains license."

"Aoshi!" The small woman elbowed her husband hard in the ribs and he choked. "That's not nice."

"Of course," his eyes twinkled wickedly, and Kenshin knew he was really going to like this man.

He showed the crew where the barrack bunks were and then the showers. "There's food in the fridge too, if your hungry," he told them, but they all looked so beat he had a feeling they wouldn't be doing much of anything except showering and sleeping. However, at the mention of food, Sanosuke's eyes brightened and he disappeared in search of the afore mentioned refrigerator

"He's a bottomless pit," Misao grumbled. "He'd eat you out of house and home and then start on the carpet..."

"Misao." Aoshi chided her. "It's not nice to talk about your own brother like that."

"But that's the point, dearest," she gave him an acidic smile. "He's MY brother."

Kenshin laughed. "Could I interest the two of you in something to drink or eat... or just somewhere warm to crash for a bit until the shower is free?"

"Did you say warm?" Misao's eyes brightened and the smile that came to her face was brilliant. "Like fire warm?"

"Yes, like fire warm. We have a fire burning in the fireplace. Come on. I'll get you something to drink."

"You just made a friend for life, Himura." Aoshi grinned. "She'll follow you like a puppy from now on."

"Great, just what I needed... another woman." The two men laughed and Kenshin led his guests into the living room. "Kaoru," he said, getting his wife's attention. "This is Captain Shinomori and his wife, Misao."

"Hi," Kaoru walked over to Misao and put her arm around the smaller woman. "You look frozen. Come over by the fire."

"Oh, thanks. That sounds soooooooooo good."

"Ha, now she's Kao's puppy." Aoshi choked on his laughter as Kenshin's joke hit home. "I promised you a drink, Captain. What can I get you?"

"Scotch, if you've got it... whiskey if you don't."

"Hmmm, how 'bout kool-aide? I got a lot of that?" Kenshin listened to Aoshi chuckle as he dropped a couple of ice cubes into a short glass. "My daughter's favorite flavor is grape, but I can probably rustle up some cherry or strawberry... if you'd rather." He poured three fingers of scotch into the glass, then made himself a similar drink. "Whatever your preference." He grinned and handed Aoshi his drink. "You just let me know..."

"I'll do that." Ice blue eyes laughed into twinkling amethyst. "But this is fine for now."

"Very good." They clinked glasses and took a healthy swig. Both mentally wondering at the strange but absolute level of complete comfort they felt in each others presence... as if they'd known one another for decades... a lifetime... forever.

"Where are you and your wife from, Captain?" Kaoru looked at Aoshi, wondering why he seemed so familiar to her. "I told Kenshin your name sounded familiar, but I can't place it. Have you ever been to Evermore before?"

"No, can't say that I have." Aoshi took another drink and studied the fine features of the Lampkeeper's wife. "I've passed by on shipping runs before, but never had the occasion to stop before tonight." There was something strange about her eyes... they were so blue... bluer than the sky... bluer than the water... so blue... "I think I would have remembered had I met either of you before."

"Hmmm," Kaoru couldn't take her eyes off his face, and a shiver laced up her spine as a tingle of awareness crawled through her soul. "Your eyes..." Her voice was barely a whisper, more of a breath that trailed over her lips. "They're supposed to be... green."

"What?" Misao looked at Kaoru like she'd just grown two heads, then she looked at her husband and saw the strangest look cross his face, almost as if another set of features pass over and then faded away. "A-aosh?"

"Green?" He asked, leaning forward, his eyes locked with hers. "How do you know that?"

"I... don't know." The air in the room was being sucked out by a vacuum. "You... died."

"Died?"

"For us... Kenshin and me... you... died." Her words were halting, strained, as if they were being pulled from a place so deep inside of her it made her soul bleed. "He... killed you."

"Kaoru?" Kenshin shuddered, a shock of cold brushing over his skin as her words teased some long forgotten memory inside his mind. A memory of another night when it rained... when a beautiful girl died, crushed in the rocks at the foot of the lighthouse... A memory that wasn't his... or was it?

"What do you mean, I died for you?" Aoshi was shivering. Something was wrong about all of this, yet... he could hear a voice... a voice so sweet, so soft... he loved that voice, he would die for that voice, and there were eyes attached to that voice... eyes so blue... bluer than the sky... "Cassan-dra..." The name spilled in fragments from him and the whiskey glass dropped to the floor, spilling.

"Elliot..."

"It-it didn't happen..." Kenshin rasped, his hands clenched into fists. "It didn't happen... we... we stopped it. It never happened."

"What?" Kaoru's gaze shifted to her husband, tears filling the cobalt pools of her eyes. "We stopped it..."

"Yes, we... he never... the Reverend... none of us... Oh God!" Kenshin lurched to his feet. "I remember!" He cried, falling to his knees, his hands grabbing both sides of his head as he folded in on himself. "I remember... I remember... Daniel... the Reverend... The Reverend killed Daniel to save all of us... to save Hiko... to save the future. We were there..." he sobbed. "We were all there, all of us." He looked up and caught his wife's horrified gaze. "You, me, Soujiro, Aoshi, and Hiko... all of us. Dear God, Kaoru... Soujiro is your brother, Ethan... and Aoshi is Hiko's brother, Elliot... I... I was the school master, Edmond Fetlock... the first Lightkeeper... I was the first... that's why I came back... why I loved this place so much. I'd been here before... that's why I loved you... I did before... it's all happened before... Aoshi?" He turned to the stunned, dark haired man. "You're my best friend," he said raggedly. "In another life... we were best friends... do you remember? Aoshi? Do you remember?"

"Daniel?" Aoshi choked. "What happened to Daniel?"

"He's going to be my father-in-law. My step-father just like before. But he's not the same, Asohi. He's- he's a wonderful man. He loves my mother. He's been like a father to me... the way he should have been. We did it... the Reverend did it. We saved him."

"Merciful God..." He sounded like the old Elliot for a moment. "It worked?"

"Aye, my friend. It worked. We all made it... and... and we're together again. You're the last... I found you... I finally found you."

The sensation of someone missing was finally gone. The last space in Kenshin and Hiko's lives was filled. And when Hiko Seiguro laid eyes on Aoshi, the strangest thing occurred.

They stood for the longest time and just stared at each other, not moving or speaking. Then Aoshi walked slow and steady to the older man, wrapped his arms around the broad shoulder and buried his face against the warm neck. Hiko soundlessly crushed the younger man in a smothering embrace that lasted what felt like an eternity.

"I love you, Elliot... forgive me, my own dearest brother. Forgive me."

"I have always loved you Daniel... and you had my forgiveness long ago, brother. You had it long ago."

_'We're home at last, Father... both of us. We're home... and all is well, and all is forgiven.'_

THE END

Thank you all for the fun, for the wild ride, and for the friendships. They will remain with me for the rest of my life. God speed and God Bless every one of you. May the earth rise up to meet your feet, and may all your sweetest dreams come true.

All my deepest love,

Kanzen ne Tsuki


	33. Kanzen ne Tsuki update

Just a note to let everyone know I'm not totally dead. To get caught up on what is new with me, see my bio for the details.

BTW: I have to say that after being gone for so long, I can hardly believe I am still getting reviews and the like on my stories. Actually, I'm speechless. It's been over a year since I stopped writing FF. I am considering coming back as a side hobby from my professional group activities. I miss you guys. :(

Tsuki-san


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